标签： Oceania

With less than six months remaining until Victoria’s hotly contested state election, Premier Jacinta Allan has publicly decried a misogynistic political attack targeting her, using the incident to sound the alarm over what she calls the growing corrosiveness of Australia’s political discourse. The attack, uncovered Friday evening in Melbourne’s central business district, came in the form of a mobile billboard displaying the derogatory slogan “Ditch the Witch” — a phrase with a well-documented history of sexist targeting of female Australian leaders, having first been deployed against former Prime Minister Julia Gillard during the divisive 2011 carbon tax debate. This is not the first time Allan has faced such vitriolic abuse: earlier this year, she was targeted with an even cruder misogynistic slogan printed on a fire truck at a public rally. Taking to social media to call out the latest incident, Allan made clear that while political disagreement is a natural and legitimate part of democratic governance, open sexism has no place in public debate. “People are entitled to disagree with me. That’s democracy,” the premier told reporters and followers. “But I care that this attacks women. And I care about who’s next. The political debate in this country has become corrosive over the last few years.” Allan framed the mobile billboard as part of a covert, well-funded opposition campaign, noting that rhetoric and behavior that would have been broadly condemned by all political sides decades ago is increasingly being normalized as just another campaign tactic. She specifically called out media outlets for failing to push back against this trend, arguing that many outlets treat the derogatory attacks as acceptable political theater rather than the harmful escalation they represent. “They report on this like it’s fair game, like it’s normal. But nothing about this is normal,” Allan said. “If you don’t take a stand against this creeping culture, it has a tendency of taking over. You only have to look at America to know that.” The premier stressed that she would not step aside and allow the normalization of misogynistic language targeting women in leadership, or any working woman across the state. “I cannot stand back and let Victoria become a place where this sort of language is fair game against any woman at work – or any woman in leadership,” she said. “If we don’t draw a line, the line will keep moving.” Beyond the immediate political context, Allan tied the incident to her broader vision for gender equity, explaining that she wants to build a state where young girls do not feel pressured to lower their career ambitions to avoid harassment, and young boys are taught that misogyny is never an acceptable path to success. “I want my children to grow up knowing that women deserve the same respect as men,” she said. “I want girls to know that they should never need to aim lower just to feel safer. And, I want boys to know that they don’t have to put women ‘in their place’ to make their own way in the world. Sexism hurts everyone.” Allan, who replaced long-serving, controversial former premier Daniel Andrews when she took office in 2023, is heading into the November election facing steep political headwinds. Her government has seen dropping approval ratings amid ongoing controversy over large-scale infrastructure projects and rising public concern over crime rates, while the far-right One Nation party has posted notable gains in voter support in recent months. In recent days, the Bendigo-based MP has also faced internal and public questions about the future of her leadership ahead of the poll.

A high-profile internal conflict rocking Australia’s top workplace adjudication body, the Fair Work Commission (FWC), has drawn federal government attention, with Employment Minister Amanda Rishworth declining to close the door on official intervention as she reviews new complaints surrounding a 2021 homophobic slur incident.

The controversy dates back to 2021, when FWC Commissioner Jennifer Hunt was recorded using a homophobic slur during an official work function. Then-FWC President Ian Ross subsequently issued formal counselling to Hunt over the comment, after multiple members of staff present raised formal objections to the language. Hunt has since confirmed the incident took place in comments to *The Australian*, but has pushed back against claims the comment was intended to cause harm. She has further alleged that internal details of her counselling and the incident were intentionally leaked as part of a coordinated campaign to damage her professional reputation, tying the leak directly to a long-running personal dispute with FWC Vice-President Ingrid Asbury.

The conflict escalated when Asbury formally lodged a complaint with Minister Rishworth, calling for Hunt to be suspended or removed from her position as commissioner. The two parties reached a procedural settlement this week, following an independent inquiry led by retired Federal Court Judge Alan Robertson. In a joint public statement released this week, Hunt accepted Robertson’s findings, which dismissed all of her complaints against Asbury and current FWC President Adam Hatcher. As part of the settlement, Hunt agreed to withdraw her formal request for the full public release of the inquiry report and to remove a related public post calling for release that she had shared on her professional LinkedIn account.

Speaking to Sky News about the ongoing internal dispute, Rishworth acknowledged the FWC’s status as a critically important Australian institution, noting that public trust in the tribunal is non-negotiable. Rishworth referenced a previous independent inquiry she commissioned into earlier allegations related to the incident, which returned no formal actionable findings, requiring no further government action at that time. She confirmed that new allegations and formal complaints have now been brought forward, and that her office is currently seeking formal guidance from her department on how to proceed.

When pressed on whether she would consider removing any FWC leadership or commissioner from their post over the incident, Rishworth repeatedly stated she would not pre-empt outcomes before receiving official departmental advice, stopping short of ruling out any potential intervention. Asked directly whether any senior officials would face termination over the controversy, Rishworth declined to comment, saying only that “it’s very important that I get the right advice” and that the FWC must retain public respect across the country, while refusing to be drawn into specific details of the ongoing conflict.

As debate over the future of the trilateral AUKUS security pact intensifies, a senior Australian Greens lawmaker has publicly cast doubt on official narratives surrounding the perceived military threat from China, while pushing back against Canberra’s deepening alignment with Washington’s Indo-Pacific strategy. The controversial submarine component of the agreement has come under fresh pressure this week, following the revelation that the United States will supply Australia with three second-hand Virginia-class nuclear-powered submarines, a departure from earlier plans that included one newly built vessel alongside two used models.

Greens Senator David Shoebridge, a longstanding vocal critic of AUKUS, used a Sunday interview with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation to call for a pragmatic, balanced approach to China that rejects what he frames as an unnecessary march toward a confrontational foreign policy aligned exclusively with U.S. interests. Acknowledging Beijing’s military expansion in the South China Sea, Shoebridge argued that aligning fully with Washington’s regional agenda represents one of the riskiest possible responses to the rise of China as a major regional power.

“Our region is actively pursuing a balanced approach to China, and Australia should follow that lead instead of walking down a warpath with Washington,” Shoebridge said. “We can maintain a complex, functional relationship with China without letting that entire relationship be dictated by Washington’s priorities.”

When pressed on widespread claims that China could pose a threat to the critical trade sea lanes that Australia relies on for economic survival, Shoebridge questioned the logical basis of that fear. While he acknowledged that any major military power can deploy its forces to advance its national interests, he pointed out that blocking Australian sea lanes would directly damage China’s own economy, which depends on steady inflows of critical raw materials from Australia. “Why would China shut down the shipping routes that deliver essential resources to its own factories and markets?” he asked.

Shoebridge did concede that a direct military conflict between the United States and China would put global trade, regional stability, and the entire world economy at severe risk, noting that sea lanes would be vulnerable in that scenario. But he argued that AUKUS, far from insulating Australia from that risk, makes Australia more likely to be drawn into a great power conflict that is not in the nation’s interest.

On Australia’s broader defense needs, Shoebridge agreed that the country must retain the ability to defend its territorial waters, airspace, and continental borders, as well as its surrounding maritime approaches. But he rejected the idea that Australia, with its mid-sized economy, should take on a global policing role for international sea lanes. When asked about the necessity of submarines for Australian defense, he described crewed submarines as just one possible option, arguing that Australia should instead pursue a mixed fleet of both manned and unmanned maritime defense platforms, including autonomous systems like the Ghost Shark underwater drone.

The high cost and inherent vulnerability of large crewed nuclear submarines remain open to debate even within mainstream defense circles, Shoebridge added, describing nuclear-powered submarines as “a disaster on pretty much every front.” “Why are we inviting ourselves into a U.S. war with China?” he asked, declining to outline a full alternative defense procurement plan, noting that detailed portfolio planning falls outside his role as a crossbench senator.

Shoebridge’s critique is part of a growing wave of dissent over AUKUS that has spread even into the ruling Australian Labor Party. This week, former Labor cabinet minister Peter Garrett called for a full public inquiry into the decade-long agreement, while serving Labor backbencher and former minister Ed Husic publicly joined calls for a full rethink of the pact.

Longstanding questions continue to hover over the agreement beyond the revised submarine delivery plan. Analysts and critics have raised repeated concerns about shipbuilding capacity constraints in both the U.S. and the U.K., as well as uncertainty over whether Washington will ultimately follow through on submarine deliveries amid shifting regional threat perceptions. Additional questions have been raised about Australia’s ability to maintain full sovereign control over the nuclear-powered vessels, particularly in the event that the U.S. chooses to go to war with China.

A cross-country tax policy debate has emerged following sharp comments from New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, who labeled a potential domestic capital gains tax (CGT) a “wrecking ball tax” that his administration would never implement during a bilateral meeting with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. The remarks, delivered at an annual leadership gathering in Noosa on Saturday, have rippled into Australian domestic politics, prompting a swift response from senior Australian Labor officials.

During his comments, Luxon framed the CGT discussion as a decade-long contentious issue in New Zealand, noting that his country is currently navigating a post-shock economic recovery. Against that backdrop, he argued that introducing a new capital gains tax would inflict severe damage on New Zealand’s expanding economy. The New Zealand leader stopped short of weighing in on the Albanese government’s planned CGT reforms — which include cutting the existing CGT discount — acknowledging the deep structural differences between the two nations’ tax systems and broader economies.

On Sunday, Australian Employment Minister Amanda Rishworth pushed back on attempts to draw parallels between Luxon’s comments and Australia’s ongoing CGT reform debate, emphasizing that the two countries operate fundamentally distinct tax frameworks. “Capital gains tax has existed in our country, as we’ve been discussing, for a very long time. There’s been changes along the way, and we are looking at capital gains and changing that to rebalance it and make it fairer,” Rishworth told Sky News. She rejected framing Luxon’s remarks as a veiled critique of Australian policy, noting that the bilateral meeting between the two prime ministers was warm and reinforced the close, cooperative relationship between Australia and its nearest neighbor. “I don’t think you can compare apples with oranges when we’re talking about different tax systems and different countries,” she added.

The exchange has escalated domestic tensions around the Albanese government’s proposed CGT and negative gearing changes, which have already drawn fierce opposition from the center-right Coalition. Speaking after Rishworth’s comments, shadow treasurer Tim Wilson accused Luxon of implicitly criticizing Australian reform plans, arguing that the prime minister’s remarks amounted to an attack on Australia’s future prosperity that the Albanese government had failed to push back against. The Coalition has already pledged to block the reform package in the Australian Senate, where the minority Labor government needs crossbench support to pass legislation, and has promised to fully repeal the changes if it wins the 2028 federal election.