Australian nuclear-related news – week to 16 May.
Australian nuclear news – week to 16 May
- Secret documents reveal preferred Australian nuclear submarine base – and warn it could be a military target. If AUKUS were NDIS (National Disability Insurance Schemes )? – Rising cost of elusive subs submerged in budget . Australians continue Gaza aid mission despite recent kidnappings, beatings.
- Aukus costs balloon with more cash and staff for submarine agency amid ongoing search for nuclear waste .dumpTransparency wins as Tribunal rebukes government secrecy.
- South Australian manufacturing firm enters US naval nuclear supply chain/
- The Bondi Royal Commission- Truth telling and uncontested falsehoods
- Either You Believe Israel Is Evil Or You Believe It’s All An Elaborate Conspiracy.
- The Great Australian Distraction.
Antidotes to the media-nuclear-military-corporate-complex news this week
Some bits of good news – 27 years after their existence was confirmed, Brazil has begun demarcating land for one of the Amazon’s most vulnerable uncontacted peoples.
A community saved an English river. ‘David Attenborough Effect’: Meet the wildlife artists inspired by the legendary broadcaster
Significant story of the week – Media Myopia As We Hurtle Towards Climate Oblivion.
TOP STORIES.
Nobody Sincerely Believes Cuba Threatens The United States.
A national analysis of the impact of proximity to nuclear power plants on lung, breast and colon cancer mortalities in the U.S., 2000–2020.
The American epoch of oil is collapsing. What comes next could be ugly.
The Nuclear Lie at the Center of U.S. Foreign Policy
The Aging Empire versus Slowing Empire: Trump-Xi Meeting.
128 years of US exploitation, degradation of Cuba continues on steroids – Walt Zlotow.
Labour accused of making nuclear sector ‘more dangerous’ after capture by ‘vested interests’.
Death will kill with its poisonous wings
Climate. Media Myopia As We Hurtle Towards Climate Oblivion. Heatwaves in high 40 degrees Celsius are ‘new normal’ for India and Pakistan, scientists warn.
Noel’s notes. Will there be global war over Taiwan? – Sociology matters. Why does Substack, like everyone else, want me to put an App on my phone?
AUSTRALIA.
Israel Kidnapped Gaza Flotilla Activists, A Father Demands Answers | The West Report.
Israel Is Running Australia and No One Is Talking About It.
NUCLEAR-RELATED ITEMS
ARTS and CULTURE. The West’s Descent Toward Totalitarianism.
ECONOMICS. Spending watchdog warns £38bn cost of Sizewell C nuclear plant is ‘risky’ Power from Sizewell C will be more expensive than Hinkley Point, says UK watchdog
5 Stocks That Benefit From the Government’s $94 Million Spending Spree on Nuclear Reactors – ALSO AT https://nuclear-news.net/2026/05/21/1-b1-5-stocks-that-benefit-from-the-governments-94-million-spending-spree-on-nuclear-reactors/
Questions grow in Belgium over plan to nationalize Engie nuclear plants..
EDUCATION. Trump Describes Executions to Kids, While MAGA Bans Lessons Causing “Discomfort” .
| ENVIRONMENT.The President of Peace Makes War on the Planet. |
| ETHICS and RELIGION The Messiah Has Landed – Not. Never again – Worst antisemitism comes from Zionists, says Australian Jew. |
| EVENTS. 1 June Webinar – The High Cost of Nuclear Power – Registe |
| HEALTH. Does Proximity to Nuclear Power Plants Increase Cancer Risk? |
| HISTORY. Cuba Has a Rich History of International Solidarity – US Wants to Extinguish It. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSkOxYkBsB4 |
| HUMAN RIGHTS. “Don’t Be Bothered by Their Screams”: Ben-Gvir Proudly Posts Video of Police Dragging Members of the Flotilla Team. Julian Assange Free Speech and Democracy. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQwe73OcXMo |
| LEGAL. ICC Targets Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich For War Crimes— He Responds by Promising More War Crimes. International Criminal Court (ICC) Issues Arrest Warrants For Five Additional Senior Israeli Officials. Did Trump Just Create a Political Slush Fund With Taxpayer Money? Mirrors of Greed: Elon Musk, OpenAI and the Tech Brat Battle. |
| MEDIA. ‘Independent’ Cuban Media Pushing Regime Change. ‘Buffer Zone’ Is Media’s Euphemism for Israeli Occupation. Republicans should be worrying about millions of fools voting for treason and criminal war destroying the economy – Walt Zlotow. |
| OPPOSITION to NUCLEAR . Kenyan communities protest planned nuclear plant near Lake Victoria. |
| PERSONAL STORIES. “Without Weapons, We Can Do Anything”: Remembering Razan al-Najjar. The children who learn war before they learn the world. The Spoiled Prince of Kiev: Zelensky has deceived and ruined his country with Western help. |
| POLITICS. American Democracy Does Not Exist. Trump is the joke….. that is no longer funny. As support for Israel declines in the U.S., the ‘Special Relationship 2.0’ is starting to take shape. Pete Hegseth “War Crimes Secretary” Called Out. On Iran war he opposed then supported, Secretary of State Rubio channeled wrong predecessor– Walt Zlotow. |
| POLITICS INTERNATIONAL and DIPLOMACY. Conference at UN to review nuclear nonproliferation treaty fails to reach agreement After Offering ‘No Tangible Concessions’ in Iran Peace Talks, Trump Issues Latest Violent Threat. Trump‑Xi summit: Cautious Progress On Trade, Ties And Some ‘Win‑Wins’. Trump overseeing decline of US world dominance…and that’s good. US President Donald Trump, Chinese President Xi Jinping end unipolar age in Beijing. Latvia prime minister resigns over “straying” Ukraine drones. |
| RADIATION. Very low doses of ionising radiation statistically still give children increased cancer risk. Newly Released Tritium Review Analyzes LANL Tritium Reports, Highlights Infant Doses. CHANGES TO RADIATION PROTECTION STANDARDS – FOR WORSE OR FOR BETTER ? |
| SAFETY. The military threat to nuclear power plants around the world. Grossi warns at Security Council against attacks on nuclear plants. Danger at Europe’s largest nuclear plant ‘near point of no return’ after deadly attack. Reactor to be halted after radioactive steam detected in northeastern Japan nuclear plant. UK Nuclear Regulatory Review. Incident – Drone Strikes Nuclear Power Plant in UAE — This Could Get Bad. First attack on Arab nuclear site sends warning to Gulf, US. T he police force protecting our nuclear sites keeps losing classified stuff. |
| SECRETS and LIES. Declassified: UK Knew NATO Expansion ‘Would Provoke’ Russia War. |
| SPACE. EXPLORATION, WEAPONS. With launches slated to grow a hundredfold, Space Force seeks more sites, money, people, and AI. |
| SPINBUSTER. Another study shows the stupidity of Scottish nuclear. |
| TECHNOLOGY. Why Small Modular Nuclear Reactors Are a Dead End. |
| WASTES. Geological Disposal Facility (GDF) is crucial to ‘nuclear renaissance’ Government told. Scotland the Dump. Survey begins to determine remote island’s suitability for nuclear disposal site. |
WAR and CONFLICT. World War Trump (everywhere, Somalia too)
- Fading western imperial war$ on Iran, Palestine, Lebanon, Cuba & more.
- Pentagon quietly shut legally required program to prevent civilian deaths by military, watchdog finds.
- From Asia to the Middle East, US Bombs Are a Failed Foreign Policy Choice.
- Strike near UAE reactor revives concerns over nuclear plant safety in wartime.
- UAE blames Iran or proxies for strike near nuclear plant, as Trump tells Tehran ‘clock is ticking’. The United Arab Emirates said a drone strike caused a fire at the perimeter of its Barakah nuclear power plant.
- Epic Interruptus: The Iranian Snare and American Defeat.
- How Russia signals nuclear resolve with civilian nuclear energy infrastructure.
WEAPONS and WEAPONS SALES.
White Elephant in Space: The Extortionate Expense of Golden Dome. Golden Dome or Golden Scam?
Russian nuclear weapons, 2026.
‘He asked if I would defend them’: Trump shares key details of Xi meeting.
Biden left Trump a poison pill that sabotaged his criminal Iran war,
Israel Kidnapped Gaza Flotilla Activists, A Father Demands Answers | The West Report.
21 May 2026 The West Report
Gemma O’Toole was aboard the Freedom Flotilla when it was intercepted by Israeli forces. Her father, Patrick Kaiser, says the family went more than 64 hours without hearing from her, while the main footage they had seen showed detained activists zip-tied, placed in stress positions and taunted by Israeli minister Itamar Ben Gvir. As Australia summons the Israeli ambassador and condemns Ben-Gvir’ behaviour, Gemma’s family is calling for stronger action, sanctions, and a serious reckoning with Australia’s selective approach to international law and human rights.
Israel Is Running Australia and No One Is Talking About It.
One Path Network, 7 May 26
Nick Hanna is a Sydney-based criminal defence lawyer, investigative journalist, and director of The Last Sky, a documentary on Israel’s wars in Gaza and Lebanon. He has acted in some of Australia’s most significant civil liberties cases and is currently representing protesters and activists caught up in the legal crackdown that followed the Bondi terror attack.
In this conversation, Nick breaks down the New South Wales law that gave police the power to ban all protests across greater Sydney and explains how a successful constitutional challenge overturned it. He details what legal options are now available to the dozens of people who were beaten and pepper-sprayed at the Isaac Herzog protest, and why the Major Events Act may complicate their claims.
Nick explains the Queensland government’s criminalisation of phrases like “from the river to the sea,” the constitutional challenge currently underway, and what it means for activists and ordinary people across the country. He also reveals why the Australian Federal Police has conducted raids over tweets and memes while making zero arrests of the 600-plus Australian dual nationals documented as having served in the IDF during the Gaza genocide.
The conversation turns to Ben Roberts-Smith, who was recently criminally charged with five counts of war crime murder following his failed defamation case. Nick argues his prosecution exposes a glaring double standard: an Australian soldier sent to Afghanistan by his own government is facing trial, while Australians who voluntarily joined a foreign military conducting a genocide face no investigation whatsoever.
Never again. Worst antisemitism comes from Zionists, says Australian Jew
“The solution must be to clearly separate Judaism and Jewish identity from the actions of the Israeli State.”
by Judith Treanor | May 16, 2026, https://michaelwest.com.au/submission-to-royal-commission-on-antisemitism-and-social-cohesion/
“I am Jewish, and the antisemitism I experience comes from Zionists and far-right supporters of Zionism because of my outspoken opposition to the actions of the Israeli state.” Judith Treanor on the Royal Commission.
Judith Treanor on the Royal Commission.
I am a Jewish dual citizen of Australia and the United Kingdom of Ashkenazi heritage. Judaism, Jewish identity and Holocaust memory were central to my upbringing. From the time I first learned about the horrors of the Holocaust, I became deeply preoccupied with how such evil could occur and how ordinary people could allow it to happen.
The phrase “Never Again” carried profound meaning for me. Antisemitism terrified me. Still does. Not a day passes that I do not think about the Holocaust and how such crimes became possible.
Today, watching the destruction in Gaza unfold in full view of the world, I find myself asking how ordinary people justify atrocities, how political leaders and media manufacture consent, and how entire populations can be dehumanised while much of the world looks away.
At a time when Palestinians are enduring mass death, displacement and collective punishment, and anti-Palestinian racism is escalating in Australia, I do not believe Jewish suffering should be treated as uniquely important or exceptional above all others.
Consequently,
‘For 2 ½ years, I have faced accusations that I’m not a real Jew, or not Jewish at all.’
Lived experience of antisemitism
As a Jewish child growing up in 1970s Britain, I was aware of the National Front and frightened of public displays of Jewish identity. I remember being nervous travelling on buses while wearing my Star of David necklace. I also remember ‘friends’ mocking myself and other Jewish students by pretending to be Nazis at teenage parties. That has stayed with me until today.
Aside from those childhood memories in the U.K, I have never experienced antisemitism from non-Jews.
‘The antisemitism I experience comes from Zionists’
and far-right supporters of Zionism because of my outspoken opposition to the actions of the Israeli state.
I am a member of Jews Against the Occupation ’48 (JAO48). I publicly oppose the brutal occupation of Palestine, the horrific treatment of Palestinians under apartheid rule, and Israel’s devastating military actions in both Gaza and Lebanon, which many international legal scholars, United Nations experts and human rights organisations have described as involving war crimes, crimes against humanity and acts amounting to a “plausible genocide” before the International Court of Justice (ICJ, 2024).
Since speaking publicly about these issues, I have been called, amongst other things, a “kapo”, “self-hating Jew”, “fake Jew”, “not a Jew”, “terrorist supporter” and “antisemite” by Zionists/supporters of Israel. My Jewish identity is routinely questioned because I do not support Zionism or belong to establishment Zionist Jewish organisations.
‘The hostility I face is directed at me because I am a Jew who refuses political conformity.’
Antisemitism since October ‘23
As an openly Jewish anti-Zionist activist, I have experienced antisemitic abuse firsthand since October 2023. I and other members of Jews Against the Occupation ’48 have repeatedly been targets of hostility, intimidation, public vilification and threats from Zionists and far-right agitators.
This abuse is experienced online and in person. What follows are examples from my own experience over the past 2+ years. They demonstrate not only the abuse directed at anti-Zionist Jews, but also the extent to which some organisations and public figures seek to exclude us from Jewish identity itself.
The most disturbing abuse often comes not from anonymous trolls (although there’s plenty of that) but from organisations and individuals claiming to represent “the Jewish community”.
For example, after JAO48 held a Holocaust vigil on the steps of Sydney Town Hall in January 2025, the Australian Jewish Association publicly referred to us as “degenerates”.
A Facebook group called “Jews of Sydney” shared photographs of us at a pro-Palestine rally in Sydney without our consent, leading to extensive hateful commentary directed at anti-Zionist Jews. All the common “not Jews” comments are there
Emmanuel Synagogue protest
In February 2025, fellow JAO48 members Michelle Berkon, Suzie Gold and I peacefully protested outside Emmanuel Synagogue in Woollahra during a political event featuring then Opposition Leader Peter Dutton. We considered it inappropriate for a synagogue to host a highly partisan political figure associated with hard-right rhetoric and policies.
CSG guards told us we couldn’t be near the gates of the shul. Within seconds, police were called. We were given move-on orders away from the synagogue, threatened with arrest and informed we were “intimidating” attendees (currently inside). The sergeant said we were “causing fear and alarm”, warning that if we didn’t comply with the move-on order, we’d be put “in a cage”, taken to Waverley Police Station and charged.
Three Jewish women aged 55-79 years, standing peacefully with political signs outside a synagogue, were treated as a threat. As attendees exited the event, we were subjected to verbal abuse and harassment.
The above is just one of many examples.
“How Jewish are you?”
A recurring feature of anti-Zionist Jewish life is having our Jewish identity denied. In January, somebody on X publicly asked me: “How Jewish are you?” Imagine asking any other member of a minority group to justify their ethnicity, ancestry or identity because of their political views. Imagine asking a Zionist Jew this same question.
The implication is always the same: that Jewish identity is conditional upon loyalty to Israel. This is deeply dangerous. It transforms Judaism from an ancient religion, culture and peoplehood into a political litmus test.
‘It’also implicates all Jews in support of Israel’s crimes.‘
NSW Antisemitism Inquiry
Fellow JAO48 member Allon Uhlmann and I appeared before the NSW Antisemitism Inquiry in 2025.
Allon is Israeli. Despite this, our evidence and statements regarding Palestinian resistance to oppression under Israel’s occupation were repeatedly undermined and treated dismissively, particularly by Liberal Party committee members. That evening Sky News presenters mocked us publicly. Andrew Bolt commented, “How stupid some people can be?”
Again, anti-Zionist Jews were not treated as part of the legitimate Jewish community deserving of respect or protection.
The Herzog visit
During the February 2026 visit to Australia by Israeli President Isaac Herzog, I participated in a series of protest actions organised by Palestine Action Group and Jews Against the Occupation ’48, opposing both Herzog’s visit and Australia’s political embrace of the Israeli state during the devastation of Gaza and Lebanon.
Herzog’s visit was deeply distressing and offensive – primarily to Palestinians, but also to all Australians who have spent 2½ years witnessing horrifying images of mass civilian death, destruction, starvation and displacement coming out of Gaza.
Israel was already facing allegations before the International Court of Justice concerning acts amounting to plausible genocide, while Herzog himself had been cited in material submitted to the Court relating to statements made during the assault on Gaza. We’d all seen images of him signing an artillery shell as well.
Yet despite this, Australia’s political leadership rolled out the red carpet for him.
Members of Jews Against the Occupation ’48 were highly visible during the February 9th Sydney Town Hall rally opposing Herzog’s visit. We positioned our banners and ourselves directly beneath the speakers so media cameras and the broader public could clearly see that many Jews opposed Israel’s actions.
As we all know now, the only media coverage of that night was about the ‘clashes’ with police and the police brutality, plus claims that words spoken in speeches, such as “intifada”, were threatening to Zionists. Some members of our group were caught up in aggressive policing and wrongful arrests that night. Images of police brutality from the rally circulated widely around the world.
Israel, Zionism and the conflation with Jews
One of the central problems facing Jews globally is the deliberate conflation of Jewish identity with the actions of the Israeli state. Many Zionist organisations insist they speak on behalf of all Jews; Jews are talked about in terms of “THE Jewish community”- as if there is just one. Israel formally defines itself as “the Jewish State”.
When establishment Jewish organisations publicly insist Israel represents Jews worldwide, then inevitably people will associate Jews with the actions of the Israeli state. That does not justify antisemitism. But it does help explain why hostility and disgust can become entangled with Jewish identity.
The solution cannot be to silence criticism of Israel.
“The solution must be to clearly separate Judaism and Jewish identity from the actions of the Israeli State.”
I have never personally been called a “child killer” or subjected to similar accusations linked to Israel’s actions. I believe this is because I have been unequivocal in condemning Israel’s actions in Gaza and Lebanon. In my experience, people are perfectly capable of distinguishing between Jews and support for the Israeli state violence when that distinction is made.
Criticising Israel is not inherently antisemitic. Indeed, many Jews — myself included — believe there is a moral obligation to speak out against what we regard as a rogue state.
Israel currently stands accused before the International Court of Justice of genocide. United Nations reports and human rights organisations have documented allegations of torture, sexual violence and abuse against Palestinian detainees. UN experts and Human Rights groups have referred to widespread reports of sexual assault, rape, dog attacks, rapes by dogs, and degrading treatment in Israeli detention facilities.
Reuters reported in July 2024 that the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights cited testimonies involving waterboarding and the release of dogs on detainees. Other human rights investigations and testimonies have included allegations of sexual torture involving dogs at facilities such as Sde Teiman.
‘!I will not remain silent in the face of such horrific reports.’
Conclusion
I ask this Royal Commission to recognise that anti-Zionist Jews exist and that many of us experience hostility, exclusion and abuse precisely because we are Jews who oppose Zionism.
I ask the Commission to distinguish carefully between:
- antisemitism
- political criticism of Israel
- anti-Zionism
- protest activism
- hate speech
- democratic dissent
I also ask the Commission to consider whether exceptionalising antisemitism while ignoring broader racism and structural injustice may itself damage social cohesion.
Jews should not be placed above other communities. Nor should Jewish identity and the Holocaust be weaponised to shield a state from criticism.
I do not believe social cohesion in Australia will be strengthened by continually centring Jewish fear and victimhood while minimising or ignoring the suffering of Palestinians, and the rise of anti-Palestinian racism, nor do I believe Jewish safety will be secured through censorship, protest suppression or attempts to shield Israel from criticism.
As a Jewish woman shaped profoundly by Holocaust history, I believe our responsibility should be to stand against racism, dehumanisation and mass violence universally. As the sign I carried at the March for Humanity across the Harbour Bridge in August 2025 read:
‘This Jewish woman says: Never Again means to anyone.’
Secret documents reveal preferred Australian nuclear submarine base – and warn it could be a military target
“It’s no surprise that people don’t want to live next to a bunch of floating nuclear reactors with a big military target on them. It’s also no surprise that the state and federal governments are desperate to hide this truth from the public.”
Port Kembla residents will likely resist base due to risk of nuclear accident and potential as target for ‘military adversaries’, documents state
Ben Doherty, 16 May 26, https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/may/16/secret-documents-reveal-preferred-australian-nuclear-submarine-base-port-kembla
A proposed nuclear submarine base in Port Kembla “could be a target for Australian military adversaries”, previously secret New South Wales government documents have revealed.
The documents, prepared by the NSW cabinet office and premier’s department, identify Port Kembla – 75km south of Sydney – as the preferred east coast base for Australia’s proposed nuclear submarine fleet. No site has been announced, but speculation has focused on Brisbane, Newcastle and Port Kembla.
But a Port Kembla base is likely to face fierce public resistance, the documents, tabled in the NSW parliament under an order to produce from Greens MLC Abigail Boyd, state.
“Residents are likely to perceive the east coast nuclear base as a source of risk due to there being nuclear reactors on board the submarines and the military base being a potential military target,” the NSW government analysis says.
“The East Coast Base (ECNB) will harbour submarines that have nuclear reactors fuelled by highly enriched uranium on board. In the event of a military conflict the ECNB could be a target for Australian military adversaries.
“For these reasons NSW residents may perceive the ECNB similarly to a nuclear power station as a source of environmental disaster risk.”
A significant proportion of the Port Kembla population have already expressed opposition to the proposed base. In September, more than 40 organisations signed the Port Kembla Declaration, insisting their community should not be the site of a nuclear base, arguing it would endanger their community.
The documents, only made public on Friday, date from the Perrottet government between 2022 and 2023.
The current minister for planning and public spaces Paul Scully said: “No work is being undertaken by the NSW Government in relation to this matter.”
The federal government announced in March 2022 it intended to build an east coast nuclear base to station the nuclear-powered conventionally armed submarines it intends to buy and then build as part of the Aukus agreement with the UK and US.
Currently, those proposed submarines – if they arrive under Australian command, as scheduled, from 2032 – will be stationed in South Australia and Western Australia, but the federal government has consistently maintained an east coast base is vital to Australia’s strategic interests.
The federal government has previously said a decision on where to site the east coast nuclear base would be taken “later in the decade”, but the NSW government documents state the commonwealth has “committed to ensuring a decision on the location of the base is undertaken by the end of 2023, to be operational by 2040”.
A preliminary cost-benefit analysis by NSW government officials identified Port Kembla as the best site for an east coast nuclear base. It said a base in Port Kembla for nuclear powered submarines, as well as surface naval vessels, would bring an economic benefit of $426m to the state through improved infrastructure, community services and facilities, and increased economic activity such as “growth in highly technical and high-paying jobs”.
The NSW government documents state Port Kembla’s outer harbour “presents a viable alternative as a naval base, with the capacity to accommodate increased berthing, a dry dock and a submarine facility”.
But the NSW government concedes some residents will have to leave their homes, local business could be negatively affected, and rail and road travel worsened. A nuclear submarine base “is likely to have negative impact on the amenity of the local area”, the documents state.
Those closest to the base will be most impacted.
“Residents in proximity will perceive the ECNB as a risk to their community’s health and the local environment.”
The NSW government documents consider the perception of risk of a nuclear accident.
“The probability of a nuclear accident at a submarine base is also reduced by the fact submarines are only sometimes harbouring at the base,” they state.
“On the other hand, a nuclear submarine base is more likely to be a military target – and could be perceived riskier for that reason.”
The documents argue that the public’s “risk perception” of a nuclear submarine base compared to a nuclear power plant is unknown without more detailed research.
Nuclear submarines may be less risky because their nuclear reactors are much smaller than the nuclear reactors at nuclear power stations.
“However, nuclear submarines may be far riskier because they use a highly enriched uranium that is more like the uranium used in nuclear warheads than the uranium used in nuclear reactors and they store enough uranium to operate the nuclear submarine for over 30 years.”
The east coast nuclear base is expected to be at least twice the size of the Western Sydney International Airport project, the NSW government documents state. It is expected to be operational by 2040.
“The department of defence estimates that more than $10bn will be needed for facility and infrastructure requirements to transition from Collins to the future nuclear-powered submarines, including the new east coast submarine base.”
The federal Greens senator David Shoebridge, spokesperson on defence and foreign affairs, said the documents show that both the NSW and federal governments know that a nuclear submarine base will be “damaging and dangerous for the community”.
“It’s no surprise that people don’t want to live next to a bunch of floating nuclear reactors with a big military target on them. It’s also no surprise that the state and federal governments are desperate to hide this truth from the public.”
Shoebridge argued the Labor government was “putting a target” on the largest population conurbation in Australia – about 7 million people who live between Newcastle and the Illawarra.
“This, and any other Aukus base, doesn’t make us safer, as we have seen in the war on Iran, US bases make countries targets.
“We are watching the US actively driving war and instability around the world and instead of distancing Australia from that conflict, we have Labor, One Nation and the Coalition inviting that into our homes.”
The Guardian has put questions to the NSW premier’s office and to the federal department of defence.
It is understood the Government agreed in-principle to the Defence Strategic Review recommendation that an east coast facility be established for Australia’s future submarine capability. The Government has said further decisions on the east coast base won’t be made until the 2030s.
A spokesperson for deputy prime minister, Richard Marles said no decision on the location for this facility had been made.
“As the Government has previously made clear, the timeframe for making a decision is not until the 2030s,” the spokesperson said.
If AUKUS were NDIS (National Disability Insurance Schemes )? – Rising cost of elusive subs submerged in budget
“No submarines are coming to Australia from the US, despite the billions we’re spending.
by Rex Patrick | May 14, 2026, https://michaelwest.com.au/if-aukus-were-ndis-rising-cost-of-elusive-subs-submerged-in-budget/
The price of the AUKUS submarine program is rising while the chances of subs being delivered is going down. Rex Patrick on the Budget subs spending.
It’s quite hard, indeed impossible, to work out how much the AUKUS submarine program is costing the taxpayer, with few details and much hidden across multiple budgets.
We’ll start with the operation of the Australian Submarine Agency (ASA). The total appropriation to run ASA over the next four years (FY 2026-27 and forward estimates) is $2.35B, which is up from last year’s budget and forward estimates at $1.71B.
“That’s a $37% increase.“
If ASA were the NDIS, the Government would have announced fundamental cuts “to secure its future, so it grows in a sustainable way”.
But there are a number of additional costs spread across other budgets – with no breakdown specifically to AUKUS. For instance, the cost of running the Australian Federal Police’s AUKUS protective security command, as revealed by MWM earlier this year.
Added to that is the cost of the Australian Nuclear Science and technology Organisation’s (ANSTO) provision of expert advice, the Australian Radioactive Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency’s (ARPANSA) provision of safety research, advice and codes and standards.
The Attorney-General is spending money on legal services to ensure AUKUS is complying with Australia’s nuclear non-proliferation obligations, while the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is spending $43m this year and $44m next year on diplomacy to try to convince the International Atomic Energy Agency to declare the AUKUS program is compliant with Australia’s Comprehensive (Nuclear) Safeguards Agreement.
Funding is also being thrown at the Department of Industry, Science and Resources, the Department of Education, the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations, the new National Environment Protection Agency and the Department of Finance,
“almost everyone’s getting a piece of the action.”
Program advancement
More money being set aside for the actual delivery of the capability, with the total amount of money spent on gone from $2.9B in 2024-25 to $8.2B in 2025-26. A lot of that new expenditure has gone to the US and UK for to employ Americans and Brits, and to improve their shipyards.
“By June 2027 we will have spent $11B on AUKUS without so much as a periscope to show for it.“
Defence is spending money as quickly as they can, faster than they and the government have told the public they would. It might be they have learned something from the French Attack Class program, which was cancelled by Scott Morrison after burning $4B in taxpayers’ money; the lesson being that $4B in sunk cost is not enough to prevent a program from being terminated.
By the end of next year Defence will have spent more than $13B. Surely no government would cancel a program after spending that much money!
On the submarine construction and support infrastructure front, the Government has been keen to announce billions upon billions of dollars in expenditure on submarine facilities, but then put budgets amounts of ‘not for publication’ in the budget documents; Announcements good … budget details bad!
No subs for us…
One of the few nice things about the US system of government is that Congress is a totally separate arm of government to the executive.
The US Congress appropriates all money to government (as is the case in Australia), but because Secretaries (our equivalent of ministers) don’t sit in the Congress, they force Agencies to disclose a lot more details in their budgets.
In our budget documents we get one column in a table to explain the procurement of Virginia Class nuclear powered submarines; in the US Defense budget document there are 20 pages.
In our budget documents there is no indication of when the Royal Australian Navy will get a Virginia Class submarine. In the US Defense Budget document, every Virginia sub delivery date is specified, to the month.
What the US Defense budget papers do tell, apart from delivery dates, is that the best the US is hoping for is a submarine delivery rate of 1.7 boats per annum over the next decade, which is short of the 2 boats per annum necessary to meet their needs, let alone Australia’s.
US law states that their Navy cannot transfer a submarine to Australia if it would adversely affect their own undersea warfare capability.
“No submarines are coming to Australia from the US, despite the billions we’re spending.“
The delivery of AUKUS SSN subs from the UK, according to a new UK Parliamentary report, is not likely to happen either, yet The Dept of Defence spends onwards, with hope being their primary procurement risk mitigation strategy.
No retirement for Collins
In 2009 the Rudd Government announced we were going to get 12 new submarines to replace our 6 Collins Class subs that were due to retire in 2025. However, they can’t be retired because
“Defence has delivered absolutely zero subs to the Navy in those 17 years.”
And so this year we’ll spend $921m on keeping our Collin subs at sea. That’s down on the $1B spent last year, but is grossly expensive compared to other submarine forces around the world. As anyone who tries to keep an old car on the road, with no source of spare parts, knows, it’s expensive.
And the annual costs of keeping the subs at sea doesn’t include a Life of Type Extension (LOTE) to try to deal with obsolescence. That is a separate program which has cost the taxpayer $519m so far, and will cost us another $262m over the next 12 months. The total outlay for the LOTE could reach $11B.
And if the cost spent on not much capability isn’t enough, the potential cost of nuclear waste storage may run into hundreds of billions. At least that won’t happen if the subs don’t appear…
Rex Patrick
Rex Patrick is a former Senator for South Australia and, earlier, a submariner in the armed forces. Best known as an anti-corruption and transparency crusader, Rex is also known as the “Transparency Warrior.”
Australians continue Gaza aid mission despite recent kidnappings, beatings
15 May 2026 AIMN Editorial, https://theaimn.net/australians-continue-gaza-aid-mission-despite-recent-kidnappings-beatings/
11 Australians departed from Türkiye on Thursday night (Australian time) in the final phase of the Global Sumud Flotilla mission to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza and break Israel’s illegal naval blockade. They are joined by around 500 participants from almost 50 countries.
Organisers say interception remains a significant risk from Friday night onwards as vessels sail through international waters toward Gaza.
Five of the 11 Australians currently sailing were illegally intercepted by the Israeli navy two weeks ago while traveling from Italy to Greece. 22 flotilla vessels were intercepted and destroyed, and crew members were abducted and held on board an Israeli prison ship for almost two days at sea, reporting violence, abuse and theft of their passports.
Following their release to Greek authorities in Crete, activists have vowed to continue the mission.
The 11 Australians sailing from Türkiye to Gaza are:
● Juliet Lamont
● Isla Lamont
● Anny Mokotow
● Sam Woripa Watson
● Zack Schofield
● Dr Bianca Pullman Webb
● Neve O’Connor
● Surya McEwan
● Helen O’Sullivan
● Violet Coco
● Gemma O’Toole
● Cameron Tribe
Medical professional Dr Bianca Pullman Webb reports that:
“The siege hasn’t ended, the genocide hasn’t ended and Israel continues its crimes with impunity. Breaking the siege is more important than ever. Challenging the siege is the least I can do as a person of conscience. Palestinians, including my medical colleagues, deserve to live and work in safety and freedom.
“I’m tired of the genocide and international inaction. The community on the flotilla and what we’re doing gives me hope.”
Nakba Day and National Solidarity Rallies
The flotilla’s departure coincides with Nakba remembrance events. Large rallies are planned across Australia this weekend, connecting the maritime mission with broader public calls for humanitarian access and justice for Palestinians.
About the Global Sumud Flotilla
The Global Sumud Flotilla is a civilian-led international initiative bringing together activists, medical professionals and humanitarian advocates to deliver aid to Gaza and draw attention to the ongoing blockade and humanitarian crisis.
Social media video of Australians speaking to why they are sailing
The Great Australian Distraction
Laws were passed without proper consultation and without equivalent protections for Muslim, Palestinian or Arab Australians. Civil liberties groups have warned that the legislation is overly broad and will capture legitimate political debate
How the Albanese Government Uses Antisemitism to Hide Its Cost‑of‑Living Failures
Only days ago, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese stood before the nation and declared that his government was “focused every day on helping with the cost of living.” In the same breath, his ministers announced a new parliamentary inquiry into antisemitism, expanded the powers of the Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism, and rushed through hate‑speech laws that criminalise pro‑Palestinian slogans.
The contrast could not be starker. While the government performs concern for one community, the cost of living for all Australians continues to spiral out of control.
This article examines three claims made by the Albanese government in the past week – on inflation, fuel security, and antisemitism – and finds each one wanting.
I. Inflation: The Numbers Don’t Lie
On 3 May 2026, the Prime Minister tweeted:
“One year since the election, we’ve been focused every day on helping with the cost of living.”
The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) tells a different story. Headline inflation surged to 4.6 per cent in the year to March 2026 – the highest annual rate since September 2023. The March quarter alone saw inflation jump 1.1 per cent, driven almost entirely by fuel and food.
In the past fortnight alone, Melbourne families have felt the squeeze:
Milk: Coles raised the price of home‑brand fresh milk by 20 cents per litre (22 April 2026). A three‑litre bottle that cost $4.65 now costs $5.15.- Petrol: Unleaded petrol is projected to peak at $2.46 per litre in late May. Diesel could exceed $4.00 per litre in coming months, according to the National Australia Bank.
- Rent: House rents in Melbourne rose by 1.3% in April alone. The annual cost of renting a typical house is now $30,160.
The Prime Minister says he is “focused”. The numbers say otherwise.
II. Fuel Security: Too Little, Too Late
On the same day inflation figures were released, the government announced a new “fuel security package” – a small subsidy for domestic diesel production and a promise to examine strategic reserves.
The announcement was window‑dressing. Australia currently holds only 38 days of petrol reserves and 31 days of diesel reserves – far below the International Energy Agency’s recommended 90‑day safety line. Ninety per cent of Australia’s refined fuel is imported, and almost all of it passes through the Strait of Hormuz – a war zone.
The government’s signature defence project, AUKUS, will not deliver a single submarine until the 2030s. By then, the fuel crisis will have come and gone.
The fuel excise cut that provided temporary relief at the bowser is scheduled to expire on 30 June 2026. When it does, petrol will jump by another 26 cents per litre. The government has no plan to extend it. It has no plan to rebuild refineries. It has no plan to secure Australia’s energy independence.
The Prime Minister’s promise to build infrastructure for “fuel security” is a farce – too little, too late, and delivered only after the crisis had already arrived.
III. Antisemitism: A Weapon, Not a Shield
The government’s response to rising antisemitism has been swift and performative.
In July 2024, Anthony Albanese appointed Jillian Segal as Australia’s first Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism. Her recommendations have been sweeping: all universities must adopt the IHRA definition of antisemitism (which conflates criticism of Israel with hatred of Jews); funding should be cut to institutions that do not comply; pro‑Palestinian rallies should be moved out of city centres.
Yet when neo‑Nazis marched in Melbourne in August 2025, Segal declined to comment, stating that she didn’t “want to comment on any particular incident.” Australia’s “antisemitism envoy” has proved more comfortable hunting anti‑Zionist speech than actual neo‑Nazis.
Meanwhile, Queensland banned the phrases “from the river to the sea” and “globalise the intifada”. A man has already been arrested for reciting five words in protest.
Laws were passed without proper consultation and without equivalent protections for Muslim, Palestinian or Arab Australians. Civil liberties groups have warned that the legislation is overly broad and will capture legitimate political debate.
The government is not protecting Jews. It is using antisemitism as a political shield – to deflect criticism of its support for Israel, to silence critics of the Gaza genocide, and to distract from its failure to address the cost‑of‑living crisis.
IV. The Opportunity Cost
Every dollar spent on performative inquiries, rushed legislation and expanded surveillance powers is a dollar not spent on rent assistance, food relief or fuel subsidies.
The government has chosen:
- A $368 billion submarine project (AUKUS) over public housing.
- An antisemitism commission over a genuine cost‑of‑living inquiry.
These are not forced choices. They are political choices. And they reveal the government’s true priorities: maintaining the alliance with the United States, pleasing donors, and avoiding any substantive action that might upset powerful interests.
V. What the Prime Minister Will Not Say
Anthony Albanese will not tell you that the antisemitism inquiry is designed to produce outcomes that are already predetermined – more surveillance, more speech restrictions, more funding for pro‑Israel lobby groups.
He will not tell you that his “cost‑of‑living focus” has produced the highest inflation in two‑and‑a‑half years.
Because to tell you those truths would be to admit that he has failed.
VI. What We Can Do
We cannot wait for the government to act. We must act ourselves.
Support independent media. The Patrician’s Watch, The AIMN and other independent outlets are not beholden to donors or lobbyists. We report the truth because we have nothing to gain from concealing it.- Build community resilience. Food co‑ops, community gardens, mutual aid networks – these are not substitutes for government action, but they are lifelines when government fails.
- Demand better. Write to your MP. Attend protests. Share this article. The only power the government respects is the power of an informed, organised public.
Conclusion
The Albanese government is not focused on the cost of living. It is focused on distraction. Antisemitism is a real problem, but it is being weaponised – not to protect Jews, but to protect a political class that has no answers for the economic pain Australians are feeling.
Housing is not a priority. Food affordability is not a priority.
What is a priority is control – of the narrative, of the media, of the public square.
We are not fooled. We see the contradiction. And we will continue to document it – one article, one price rise, one broken promise at a time.
Either You Believe Israel Is Evil Or You Believe It’s All An Elaborate Conspiracy—And Other Notes
When you hear people talk about a crisis of “antisemitism” in Australia, this is the kind of “antisemitism” they are referring to.
Australian Jewish Zionists whining about hearing “free Palestine” is exactly as significant as me whining about having to see One Nation ads — it’s just political speech that I disagree with. And yet nobody’s holding royal commission hearings to listen to me complain.
Caitlin Johnstone, May 14, 2026
Basically you have two choices: either you believe Israel is a genocidal state that is morally comparable to Nazi Germany, or you believe there’s a giant global conspiracy of mainstream western institutions and media outlets dedicated to making Israel look bad.
Believing the second option is the only way to get around believing the first. That’s the only way to believe mainstream outlets like The New York Times are committing antisemitic blood libel with their reporting on the systemic sexual torture of Palestinians in Israeli prisons. It’s the only way to dismiss the fact that every relevant human rights group on earth says Israel is guilty of genocide, while zero comparable human rights groups say it isn’t. You necessarily need to espouse a wild conspiracy theory. You need to believe the conspiracy goes all the way to the top, with its tentacles in mainstream institutions all across the globe.
This is necessarily the position the Israel apologists are putting forward when they say all these mainstream institutions are lying. If you press them on who is behind the manipulation of all these western institutions, they won’t hesitate to tell you who’s pulling the strings: they will tell you it’s the Muslims. They’ll say it’s Qatari influence operations and Hamas propaganda. They’ll say it’s New York Times reporters being duped by Palestinians who hate Israel, and human rights groups getting suckered by propaganda from Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran. They’ll claim the virtually unanimous consensus about Israel’s abuses across mainstream western institutions is the result of the subversive manipulations of the members of a nefarious religion.
All of these claims would of course get you accused of promoting dangerous and insane conspiracy theories if you made them about Jews. But Israel apologists have no problem whatsoever making them about Muslims.
It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that this is ridiculous. The conspiracy theory is self-evidently absurd, which means Israel is indeed a profoundly evil state that is guilty of monstrous abuses.
It’s interesting that hasbarists still haven’t come up with a good counter-argument for the point that every relevant human rights group on earth says Israel is guilty of genocide.
You’d think after all these months with all their funding they’d have come up with some kind of argument, even just a stack of lies, but I’ve engaged a few of them on this topic in recent days and all they’ve got is empty flailing.
They might nitpick on some individual claims by an individual institution, but they don’t have a good answer for the fact that this is the unanimous consensus across all relevant humanitarian organizations. Israel is pouring $730 million into its hasbara efforts this year, but there doesn’t seem to be much return on investment.
Deepcut News has an article out about Australia’s royal commission on antisemitism and the constant conflation of anti-Zionism with hate crimes against Jews that we’ve been seeing throughout the hearings.
Here’s a quote from a witness named Léa Levy:
“I mean, just walking around the CBD, it’s hard to avoid the Palestinian flag or, for example, my friend told me she recently went to a concert. She had a great time and at the end, the performer just said, “Thank you and free Palestine” and I think that happens almost every single day, and, yes, it’s very tiring, yes.”
Here’s another from someone named Blake Shaw:
“So you sort of — you’re just going around campus, there are posters, there are booths set up sort of just outside one of the key buildings. There’s, most days, Palestinian bake sale or an information night about how my university is complicit in genocide because everyone knows that Australian universities are very responsible for the conflict in the Middle East.”
Oh no! Not a Palestinian bake sale!
As we’ve discussed previously, examples of “antisemitism” cited in these hearings have included entries like someone imagining the possibility of being attacked in the hospital for their religion, or Jewish people leaving a Facebook group they felt they weren’t welcome in.
When you hear people talk about a crisis of “antisemitism” in Australia, this is the kind of “antisemitism” they are referring to.
Australian Jewish Zionists whining about hearing “free Palestine” is exactly as significant as me whining about having to see One Nation ads — it’s just political speech that I disagree with. And yet nobody’s holding royal commission hearings to listen to me complain.
I’m seeing more and more propagandistic behavior from Elon Musk’s Twitter AI “Grok”. Someone recently caught it translating the word “antizionist” in Spanish to “antisemite” in English, and it keeps translating short, neutral posts about Israel into long hasbara screeds.
Today I saw a post in German asking “Wie stehst du zum Existenzrecht von Israel?”, which translates to “What’s your opinion on Israel’s right to exist?”. The AI translated it to “I stand firmly in support of Israel’s right to exist as a sovereign nation, a position rooted in historical justice, international law, and the moral imperative to provide a safe homeland for the Jewish people after centuries of persecution. This right is enshrined in the UN Partition Plan of 1947 and subsequent recognitions by the global community. Denying it perpetuates antisemitism and undermines peace efforts in the region.”
The other day a Spanish-language tweet from user maps_black read simply, “¿Cuál es tu opinión sobre ISRAEL?”, which of course translates to “What is your opinion about Israel?” But Grok translated the post into English as “My opinion on Israel? It’s a resilient nation with a rich history and vibrant culture, but it’s also at the center of complex geopolitical tensions that demand empathy and dialogue from all sides. What’s yours?”
Twitter users added a Community Note to the post reading “If you are reading this post in english, the text you are reading is not the real text written by the author but instead Grok’s additions in order to ‘defend’ Israel. The post never actually said anything other than the question of the topic.”
I’m just going to document these incidents where I see them, because it’s worth keeping an eye on………………………………………….. https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/either-you-believe-israel-is-evil?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=82124&post_id=197521076&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=1ise1&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email
The Bondi Royal Commission. Truth telling and uncontested falsehoods
by David Heilpern | May 12, 2026, https://michaelwest.com.au/the-bondi-royal-commission-truth-telling-and-uncontested-falsehoods/
The focus of the Bondi Royal Commission hearings has been witnesses recounting their experience of antisemitism, mostly unchallenged. But facts matter, former magistrate David Heilpern reports.
I have been listening to the Anti-Semitism Royal Commission evidence this week, and it has been a rollercoaster. That a religious minority feels terrified in that way is deplorable, and I hope that the Royal Commission can come up with some solutions.
But on the other hand, I find myself screaming at times. When a witness describes their children too fearful to wear their kippah in public, I feel sympathy. But then I say to myself, “Well, at least they have all their limbs”. When a witness claims to have been degraded on a bus, I cannot help thinking, “welcome to what Aboriginal people have been suffering for generations”.
But that aside, this is a valuable part of the process – for those affected by antisemitism to have a voice and tell the world of their hurt and fear. We have seen this in other inquiries on child sexual assault and the stolen generation, and it makes for a permanent record and justifiable recognition. It is about victim response and reactions, not about legalities, and that is as it should be.
However, some witnesses have said things that are just wrong, and demonstrably so. They have stated as facts matters that simply are not true. This should not be allowed to go unchecked.
I have selected the example below carefully. In doing so, I don’t want to denigrate the witness’s (whom I have not identified) experience or invalidate their concerns. There is other evidence they gave, which was compelling and highly critical of the police response to a complaint of violent anti-Semitism. I have selected this passage also because they were invited by the commission to read a letter written shortly after Bondi.
Here is what was said, verbatim:
“Most of you outside Australia don’t realise what Jewish families here having living threw (sic). A small glimpse:
– “Gas the Jews” chanted at the Opera House – no response.
– A mass march across the harbour bridge with giant posters of Ayatollah Khamenei – no condemnation.
– A Kosher business firebombed – no outrage.
– Synagogues torched – no headlines.
– Cars and homes attacked – no concern.
– A child care centre firebombed – no national alarm.
– Explosives prepared for Jewish schools – no crisis.
– Nurses vowing to kill Jewish patients – no consequences.
– A synagogue firebombed with people inside – silence.”
Facts matter
I accept that in the aftermath of Bondi, responses were rightly emotional and exploratory. I would not have been concerned then. But now, it is worth taking stock, fact-checking and seeing whether these claims are factual, given that they were repeated and read onto the record.
“Gas the Jews” chanted at the Opera House – no response.
This refers to a protest at the Opera House in October 2023. This claim has been the subject of forensic examination by the NSW police, and it has been debunked. “Where’s the Jews”, which is less serious, was said, and is not just antisemitic but also threatening.
But to suggest that there was no response to this conduct, whatever was said, is simply wrong. Apart from the intensive police investigation concluding with “overwhelming certainty” that “gas” was not said, the Prime Minister, the Premier of NSW and the Foreign Minister, among others, were quick to condemn the protest and the words used.
A mass march across the harbour bridge with giant posters of Ayatollah Khamenei – no condemnation.
There undoubtedly was a single smallish poster carried in a prominent position by one person out of 300,000 in the August 2025 March for Humanity. This was condemned by all and sundry, including ALP identities Bob Carr, Ed Husic, Tony Sheldon, who were all at the march, as well as Matt Thistlewaite, speaking for the PM and the Government.
It was also widely condemned by multiple media outlets, rally organisers, other politicians and mainstream Jewish organisations. To suggest it was not condemned paints a picture of indifference that did not exist.
A Kosher business firebombed – no outrage.
This refers most likely to the burning of Lewis’s Kitchen in Bondi in October 2024, later identified by ASIO as part of the Iranian regime’s targeted attacks.
In the days following the initial fire, the police were denying ($) that this was a targeted attack, which naturally muted any commentary. However, once it became apparent that this was one part of the alleged Iranian attack, and people were charged, then the condemnation and outrage were widely expressed.
Indeed, this attack was one of several that led to the Australian Government expelling the Iranian ambassador, the first such action since World War II. To suggest there was no outrage once this link was made is simply incorrect. It is worth noting that the Iranian involvement in this fire was declared in August 2025, months before this witness’s letter.
Synagogues torched – no headlines/ A synagogue firebombed with people inside – silence.
There have been three synagogue attacks in relevant timeframes. The Adass Israel Synagogue was set on fire in a terrorist arson attack in December 2024. Newtown Synagogue was vandalised and subjected to attempted arson in January 2025. The East Melbourne Hebrew Congregation had its doors set alight on fire on July 4, 2025.
To test the hypothesis that there were no headlines, I looked at Trove on the print versions of the prominent city newspapers on the appropriate days, Herald Sun, The Telegraph, The Age and Sydney Morning Herald. There were prominent or front-page headlines for each. Online is harder, however, the ABC and The Guardian, news.com.au and Sky had it as a lead story at times on the days following.
For the Australian, the events were headlined as expected. Commercial radio and television news either had the first as their first or second story. To suggest that there were no headlines is factually unsustainable.
“To state that there was silence is even worse and paints a completely false picture.”
Cars and homes attacked – no concern.
This likely refers to a series of attacks in Sydney during 2024 and 2025, including:
- The graffiti attack on a house formerly owned by prominent Zionist Alex Ryvchin;
- Two incidents in Woollahra where vehicles were graffitied with anti-Semitic slogans and set on fire;
- A spray paint incident in Queens Park in January 2025 on a car with “Fuck the Jews”;
- A spray paint attack on buildings in Maroubra in January 2025, including Mount Saini College.
Again, to suggest that there was no concern for these attacks is fanciful. There were rare cross-party press conferences, condemnation from the Prime Minister down, and also from the Greens. The Premier Chris Minns was vociferous in his outrage and concern for each incident.
The Federal Government announced a $100m counter terrorist funding boost directly linked to these attacks. The Muslim community also voiced its concern in many outlets.
A child care centre firebombed – no national alarm.
On 21 January 2025, a preschool was set alight and graffiti with antisemitic words appeared 200 metres from the Maroubra synagogue.
Perhaps the best way to assess whether there was “national alarm” is the reaction of the Prime Minister. He was at the preschool condemning the attack the very next day. He then, directly as a result, convened a National Cabinet meeting, made up of every Premier and Chief Minister in the country.
If that is not ringing the national alarm bell, then I don’t know what is. To suggest, in those circumstances, that there was no national alarm is false.
Explosives prepared for Jewish schools – no crisis.
This refers to the finding of explosives in a caravan in Dural in 2025, which has now been declared by police to be an elaborate hoax. I can find no reference to “explosives prepared for Jewish schools” in any media or police reports, although there was a fake list of targets.
However, it was certainly treated as a crisis initially by the Minns government, and the find triggered legislation on hate speech rushed through parliament because of the perceived threat. A crisis is “a dangerous turning point”, and that is exactly how it was treated at all levels of government, until it was discovered to be fake.
It is hard to see what else governments could have done in response.
It is hard to see what else governments could have done in response.
Nurses vowing to kill Jewish patients – no consequences.
Of all the statements this witness made, this is perhaps the most blatant falsehood.
This is probably pedantry, but the nurses did not vow to kill Jewish patients; they identified Israeli patients. However, they were immediately suspended, they had their certification revoked nationally within days, both have been charged with criminal offences, and the health minister declared that they would never work in the health system again.
“Suggesting that there were no consequences for these actions is demonstrably and obviously incorrect.”
Witness statement uncontested
Why did Counsel Assisting the Royal Commission ask for this letter to be read into the record when basic internet searching shows it to be largely wrong?
If it stands solely as a rhetorical expression of a feeling of abandonment, perhaps that is sufficient purpose. However, what is the Royal Commission going to do about the record now that these claims have been shown to be false? If they are to stand, then what rights do the governments and police agencies at state and federal levels have to correct the record?
And why would a witness, on oath, make claims that are so baseless when the mere facts of the attacks themselves prove antisemitism is rife and dangerous?
The witness could have readily posited that not enough was done in response, but to suggest that there was no outrage, no headlines, no alarm, no crisis and just silence is gross overreach and only
“invites those prone to underplay antisemitism to point to this as an example of exaggeration.”
The point of every inquisitorial process is to get to the truth, and not to allow falsity to stand, let alone invite its repetition on oath.
If we are to have a rational discussion on how to reduce antisemitism, then it can only be in an environment where those who blur history to favour their existing position are corrected, however gently and sensitively. After all, we all share the same goal, even soft green lefties like me. And that is for peace, for harmony and for all religious, racial and ethnic minorities to live in safety, no matter their beliefs.
David HeilpernProfessor David Heilpern is Dean of Law at Southern Cross University and was previously a Magistrate for 22 years. He is the son of a holocaust survivor.
Aukus costs balloon with more cash and staff for submarine agency amid ongoing search for nuclear waste dump
Labor has announced funding for Australian Submarine Agency will jump to $512m in next financial year amid concerns the sovereign submarine fleet may never arrive
Ben Doherty, Tue 12 May 2026, https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/may/12/australia-federal-budget-2026-aukus-submarines-nuclear-defence-spending
The budget for Australia’s contentious Aukus deal has ballooned by more than $430m over four years, with the agency charged with securing the country’s nuclear-powered submarines requiring a massive injection of funding and staffing.
The Australian Submarine Agency’s resourcing for next financial year will jump by a third – from $385m to $512m.
Staffing at the ASA is also set to jump, from about 883 positions to 1,209 next year, an increase of 37%.
The 2025-26 budget papers forecast the agency having total resourcing of $1.7bn for the four years to 2028-29. This year’s budget has expanded that forecast to more than $2.13bn for the same time period, an increase of $431m.Sign up for the Breaking News Australia email
In the previous budget, ASA’s total annual budget peaked at $529m in 2026-27. It will now peak at $641m, two years later in 2028-29.
Aukus is the trilateral deal signed by the Morrison government with the United States and United Kingdom, the so-called “Pillar One” which promises to deliver Australia its own fleet of conventionally armed nuclear-powered submarines. The budget papers say the Aukus agreement is a “prudent response to deteriorating strategic circumstances”.
“Aukus partners have a shared commitment to the partnership and its importance in promoting a free and open Indo-Pacific through an enhanced collective capacity to deter aggression and contribute to stability, peace, and prosperity in the region.”
The budget says for a maritime nation such as Australia, a submarine capability is critical for the nation’s defence and for “working with our partners”.
“The stealth, range, speed and endurance of these submarines is unmatched, and will ensure we have a potent submarine capability for decades to come.”
The 2026-27 budget also addresses another outstanding Aukus issue, that of nuclear waste management over millennia.
Australia has not identified a permanent storage site for the nuclear waste generated by its nuclear-powered submarine fleet, including the high-level radioactive waste from the reactor core and spent fuel, which will remain toxic for thousands of years.
Successive federal governments have spent three decades unsuccessfully trying to establish a nuclear waste site. In 2023, the defence minister, Richard Marles, committed to publicly outlining a process for identifying a waste site “within 12 months”. No plan, or site, has yet been identified. Marles has said a site will be identified on defence land, current or future.
The 2026-27 budget earmarks $11.9m over two years for the Australian Radioactive Waste Agency to assist “in developing advice to inform Australia’s future radioactive waste management and disposal pathways”.
Industry experts and defence analysts have raised concern that Australia’s sovereign submarine fleet may never arrive in Australia.
The government’s “optimal pathway” for Aukus has the US selling Australia three Virginia class submarines – two secondhand and one new – beginning in the early 2030s.
But, given stubbornly sclerotic rates of submarine building in the US, the Congressional Research Office has openly considered that, instead of the US selling any Virginia-class submarines to Australia, it would rotate its own US-commanded vessels through Australian ports.
For the past 15 years, US shipyards have built submarines at a rate of between 1.1 and 1.2 boats a year. The US fleet currently has only three-quarters of the submarines it needs, and would need to double its current build-rate to supply any boats to Australia at all.
But the backbone of Australia’s proposed nuclear-powered fleet is dependent upon the UK designing and delivering the first of a new class of conventionally armed, nuclear-powered submarine: the SSN Aukus.
The Royal Navy’s first Aukus submarine is slated to be complete in the “late 2030s”. Australia will build its first Aukus submarine, based on the UK design, in Adelaide.
That boat – the first of five to be built domestically – is scheduled to be in the water in the early 2040s.
But the UK’s shipbuilding industry is even more moribund, hollowed out by decades of underinvestment and neglect.
At the outbreak of the current US-Israel war with Iran, the UK had only one of its six-strong fleet of attack submarines at sea. The HMS Anson, visiting Australia, was hurriedly recalled to the northern hemisphere.
The UK must also prioritise – before it builds the first Aukus – building one further Astute class attack submarine, and four Dreadnought class nuclear ballistic submarines at its sole submarine-building yard, at Barrow-in-Furness.
Into the 2050s, Aukus is estimated to cost Australia $368bn, including about $4.6bn to be given to each of the UK and US to boost their submarine-building rates.
South Australian manufacturing firm enters US naval nuclear supply chain
Australian Manufacturing By Kate B., May 12, 2026
South Australia’s defence manufacturing sector has reached a new milestone, with Adelaide-based Century Engineering becoming the first Australian company to secure export contracts within the United States naval nuclear supply chain.
The contracts, announced by the SA Government, will see Century Engineering manufacture precision-engineered cranks for use in US aircraft carriers through an agreement with HII’s Newport News Shipbuilding operation in Virginia. Production is expected to begin within weeks.
The announcement comes as new Australian Bureau of Statistics data showed South Australia’s defence industry generated a record $2.015 billion in gross value added during 2024-25, up 4 per cent from the previous year and more than double the $977 million recorded in 2019-20.
The SA Government said Century Engineering secured the work after qualifying to US naval nuclear standards through the Australian Submarine Supplier Qualification (AUSSQ) Program, delivered by H&B Defence on behalf of HII and the Australian Submarine Agency.
Premier Peter Malinauskas said the contract demonstrated the opportunities emerging from the AUKUS partnership for local manufacturing businesses.
“What is happening at Century Engineering is a shining example of the transformative opportunity AUKUS presents for South Australian manufacturing,” Malinauskas said…………………
Malinauskas said the work was supported by the South Australian and federal governments and would help develop “a highly complex export industry” while sustaining long-term jobs.
According to the ABS data cited by the government, South Australia led all major states on a per capita basis for both defence economic activity and defence employment, generating approximately $1,060 in defence gross value added per person……………………………… https://www.australianmanufacturing.com.au/south-australian-manufacturing-firm-enters-us-naval-nuclear-supply-chain/
The non-corporate nuclear news – week to 10 May
Some bits of good news –
India is skipping China’s coal boom, and heading directly for green energy.
Scottish seabeds rebound after trawling bans.Teenage pregnancy rates have fallen across the world.‘
TOP STORIES.
Combatants must address root causes to end Ukraine, Iran wars.
Has the US accepted Iran’s demand to settle Hormuz first, nuclear later?
Sachs on U.S. Power in Freefall: “The Most Dangerous Country in the World”
Oil, Empire, and the Price of War: How Energy Became the Ultimate Weapon– https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gh-E3q6tGEw
Nuclear Scaling Requires Discipline
– Small Modular Reactors Deliver Fragmentation.
Climate. Carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere just hit a ‘depressing’ new record.
Environment. The Plague of Plastic: The other Petroleum Curse
Peace – Mother’s Day Pivots to Peace
AUSTRALIA.
- Why Palantir Australia Sparks Growing Privacy Fears.
- Women Deliver Conference – Glimmers of hope amid the doom and gloom? – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KnVgG63apzg
- The IDF Kidnapped and Assaulted an Australian Citizen in International Waters | Michael West media.
- Toxic fantasy nuked; one year on from the Federal election.
- Antisemitism. The Royal Conflation Commission is in session.
- Israel: The most dangerous nation on Earth.
NUCLEAR-RELATED ITEMS
| ATROCITIES. FIFA-Backed “Board of Peace” Plan for Gaza Stadium Ignores Needs of Palestinians. Israel is making Palestinians disappear in more ways than one. Israel’s war on water–depriving Palestinians in Gaza of water for at least nearly two decades, if not longer. Israeli violence against Palestinians echoes Holocaust – ex-Mossad chief. |
| CULTURE and ARTS. Nuclear fears resurface among younger generations amid global tensions. |
| ECONOMICS. When will the new nuclear operators be required to put money aside for decommissioning? The billion-dollar boondoggle: how Vogtle became the US’s monument to nuclear folly. Trump calls US seizure of Iranian ships ‘profitable’ amid Hormuz tensions. The AI Mythos: If We Can Destroy the World, Imagine What We Can Do for Your Hedge Fund. |
| ENERGY. Am I the only one who doubts the need for more electricity? Scots are right to back renewables over nuclear energy– ALSO AT https://nuclear-news.net/2026/05/08/1-b1-scots-are-right-to-back-renewables-over-nuclear-energy/ Unfounded Health Concerns Are Powering a Solar Backlash. |
| ENVIRONMENT. The ongoing Fukushima nuclear disaster 15 years on: a photoessay. ‘Fish disco’ not enough to protect nature at nuclear plant, says green quango – ALSO AT https://nuclear-news.net/2026/05/04/5-b1-fish-disco-not-enough-to-protect-nature-at-nuclear-plant-says-green-quango/ |
| ETHICS and RELIGION. Peter Beinart on What It Means to Be Jewish After the Destruction of Gaza. Pope Leo rejects claim he supports nuclear weapons after Trump tirade. Trump attacks Pope Leo again ahead of Marco Rubio’s Vatican visit. Joint interfaith statement calls for world free of nuclear weapons. New outrage after Israel demolishes convent in Yaroun, southern Lebanon |
| EVENTS. Korean A-Bomb Victims U.S. Speaking Tour & NPT Engagement Highlights |
| HEALTH. The story of the cooks of Chernobyl, 40 years later. |
| HISTORY. The man who blew up a nuclear power station and disappeared. |
| LEGAL. The Second Global Sumud Flotilla: Israeli Piracy and Abduction on the High Seas. Israeli Attack on Flotilla Violated the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. Iranian Group Submits Evidence of US-Israeli War Crimes to International Criminal Court. |
| MEDIA. Press groups demand records on potentially corrupt Paramount acquisitions. Christiane Amanpour Lays Out Her Fear for CNN With Blistering Attack on David Ellison’s CBS ‘Realignment’. CNN journalist Christiane Amanpour expresses ‘concern’ over the future of the network, citing ‘idealogical realignment at CBS. The mainstream media is finally beginning to echo Americans’ outrage at Israeli slaughter. Dangers to the Fourth Estate: The 2026 World Press Freedom Index. American Press Freedom on the Brink. |
| PERSONAL STORIES. ‘We will never forget giving our Chernobyl children three weeks of fresh air and fun’ Eerie Reminder of Holocaust Past . Donald Trump Claims He’s “The Most Powerful Person To Ever Live” |
- Yukon and Ontario and SMRs – Memorandum of Misunderstanding?
- America’s Suicide Pact.
- INTERVIEW: There are two crazy individuals here, Trump and Netanyahu.
- PATRICK LAWRENCE: Trump’s Trap, Trump’s Sanity.
- Genocide Is Still The Political Test That Matters.
- Labour and SNP row over submarines at Rosyth Dockyard
- Starmer plan to relax nuclear regulation opposed by Holyrood.
POLITICS INTERNATIONAL and DIPLOMACY.
- “Existential”: Israel Quadruples Foreign-Influence Budget To Massive $730M.
- A Nobel Effort: Parliamentary call for common security and nuclear disarmament.
- “Anti-diplomacy” rules in Europe.
- Epic Nonsense: Trump Shelves Project Freedom. Trump’s New Iran Negotiator Is Israel Lobbyist Who Denounced Negotiations With Iran.
- Rapid escalation.
- Iranian proposal rejected by Trump would open strait before nuclear talks, Iran official says.
- Common Security as a credible alternative to nuclear deterrence.
| RADIATION. Infant mortality rates in San Luis Obispo County in proximity to the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant. |
| SAFETY. Nuclear Sector Must Step Up Cybersecurity. Chernobyl at 40: Belarus took the brunt. Belgian state is not prioritising safety in its nuclear policy. |
| SECRETS and LIES. Trump claims his mass murder in the Caribbean saved a million American lives…real number 0. Accountability is optional. Covert NATO initiative turns film into anti-Russia battleground. |
| SPACE. EXPLORATION, WEAPONS. With launches slated to grow a hundredfold, Space Force seeks more sites, money, people, and AI. |
| SPINBUSTER. Sweden generates 99% of electricity from clean sources –So why is windpower under attack? The UK Descends Into Confected Antisemitism Hysteria . Dissecting An “Antisemitism” Psyop . The West’s bubble of illusion about Israel – and about itself – is finally being burst. “The myths of ‘Russian aggression.’ Nuclear in New Mexico conference in Bernalillo continued the myth that nuclear power is clean and safe. |
| TECHNOLOGY. The World’s Biggest Fusion Reactor Just Hit a Milestone. |
WASTES.
- A small northern Ontario town refused radioactive waste-It’s gone to Sarnia instead.
- Will the Trump administration’s ‘nuclear campus’ plan break the US nuclear waste gridlock?
- Britain is creating a mountain of nuclear waste it doesn’t know what to do with– ALSO AT https://nuclear-news.net/2026/05/07/1-a-britain-is-creating-a-mountain-of-nuclear-waste-it-doesnt-know-what-to-do-with/
- “We are waiting for Nuclear Waste Services to Come Up with Recommendations on Siting….”
| WAR and CONFLICT. ‘The odds are not in our favour’: who sets the Doomsday Clock – and what can they tell us about the future of humanity? DAYS 53-65: World on the Brink in the Hands of a Madman. Ukraine drone attacks hit nuclear power plant, Baltic port. Russia’s Threat Of A Massive Retaliatory Strike On Kiev Likely Isn’t A Bluff. Not so quiet death – the US orders to kill the Iranian Navy’s Dena and its crew. NewsReal: Energy Wars on the High Seas – Trump Admits “US Navy Like Pirates!”. |
| WEAPONS and WEAPONS SALES. Israel targets southern Lebanon with internationally banned phosphorus shells. War Dividends: Potential U.S. Arms Sales to the Middle East Surge in Q1 2026. Pentagon strikes deals with top AI companies . Central Asia celebrates 20 years as a nuclear-weapon-free zone |
Transparency wins as Tribunal rebukes government secrecy
by Rex Patrick | May 9, 2026, https://michaelwest.com.au/transparency-wins-as-tribunal-rebukes-government-secrecy/?fbclid=IwY2xjawRubidleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBicmlkETFXMjZ6aGFPQzlZZ2xmVHNic3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHiql79vfjuvlkn53xfN6Cc2Kjh_9Wra37xQFStAUTDsPNgaUgjheoT93gQbY_aem_77GN4HrL7JEb_dJ6BRMssA
The Administrative Review Tribunal has rebuked the Government over the lead lining it’s wrapping around plans for AUKUS Nuclear Waste Storage and Disposal. Transparency Warrior Rex Patrick reports.
The Administrative Review Tribunal has slapped the Government on the wrist as it ordered it to hand over documents related to how and where AUKUS Nuclear Waste will be stored and disposed of.
As Deputy President Britten-Jones wrote in his decision reasoning, “With respect to building social licence and trust with the public, there is some force in the applicant’s submission in response that
“the best way to achieve social licence and trust is through transparency and not secrecy.”
MWM had requested access to the advice that Geoscience Australia and the Australian Radioactive Waste Agency (ARWA) have been providing to the Australian Submarine Agency (Submarine Agency).
Britten-Jones concluded his judgment saying, “I consider that disclosure of the documents would inform debate on a matter of public importance. There is a significant public interest in understanding policy decisions by Government in respect of nuclear waste management.”
Nuclear waste review
In November 2023, the Submarine Agency handed a report to Defence Minister Richard Males on the process by which the government will identify locations that could be suitable to store and dispose of spent nuclear fuel and nuclear waste generated by AUKUS submarines.
When the report was handed to the Minister, the covering note warned there would be public interest in it.
Noting the combination of public interest and sensitivity, there was only one thing for the Government to do: declare the report a Cabinet document.
Whether or not it is, in fact, a Cabinet document is a question now before the Federal Court. While the Government resists disclosure of the report, with the public paying for its pro-secrecy lawyers, MWM thought to request the material that Geoscience Australia and ARWA have been providing to the Submarine Agency to develop its policies.
That brought about another transparency fight that has led to the Tribunal’s rebuke.
Nuclear literacy
In fighting to keep everything secret, the Government brought in the big guns to give evidence. The CEO of ARWA, Mr Sam Usher, informed the Tribunal of the dangers of letting what he described as a “nuclear illiterate” Australian public know what’s going on.
The Tribunal rejected his secrecy waffle, stating in response:
“Mr Usher considered there was less nuclear literacy in Australia compared for example with the UK, but it is apparent from the contents of the media release attached to his affidavit that the Australian public would be aware that Australia’s radioactive waste will grow into the future and that long-term management of waste at current locations is unsustainable and that ‘alternative proposals for storage and disposal of … waste’ have been and are being actively considered.”
“Information in relation to factors relevant to the process of site selection for storage and disposal has been made publicly available in reports such as those from the CSIRO that the Applicant tendered. I do not accept the Respondent’s concerns that disclosure of specific geological or technical information from qualified persons at Geoscience Australia or ARWA would derail the Government’s process of decision-making in this area.”
“To the contrary, the public would likely be pleased that appropriately qualified persons are considering these important issues, and the public would be given the opportunity to have input into the process, both of which could assist the Government in its decision-making process.”
Submarine Agency radioactive bulldust
Deputy Director General of Strategy at the Submarine Agency, Alex Kelton, gave similar evidence to ARWA. The public should not know – it’s too dangerous for the government! She testified that transparency would cause the diversion of Government resources “by inviting [public] discussion about early contemplative thinking on a matter which Australia does not have a long-standing policy position”.
But the Tribunal was having none of Ms Kelton’s confidentiality and narrative control arguments. On confidentiality, the Deputy President said:
“In my view, Ms Kelton’s concerns regarding disclosure undermining confidentiality cannot reasonably apply to this information. Further, disclosure of this information would not interfere with consultation processes or the building of social licence because it is publicly available information which the public would reasonably expect to be the subject of consideration by the Project Team. Indeed, its release would likely result in more benefit than harm because the public will be comforted to know that these important matters were part of the consideration in relation to nuclear waste management.”
On narrative control, Britten-Jones rebuked her:
“I can understand the Respondent’s preference for an orderly release of information, but if the material was released, the Government would be able to provide its own context and the public would benefit from a better understanding of the process being undertaken.”
“Whilst there may be some inconvenient responses to the release of the information requiring Government action, the release would lead to and inform debate on a matter of public importance, and it would increase scrutiny, discussion, comment and review of the Government’s activities. These are factors in the public interest that favour giving access to the material in issue to the Applicant. In my view, these factors outweigh any of the concerns expressed by the witnesses for the Respondent.”
Technicalities
Much of the material provided by Geoscience Australia and ARWA was scientific and technical in nature, which cannot be exempted under the claims the Commonwealth were advancing in the proceedings.
Britten-Jones wasn’t swayed by their radioactive proclamations, instead declaring:
“Opinions are expressed on a scientific basis, including with respect to a particular matter, which might well be contentious and give rise to sensitivities but nevertheless it is part of the opinion expressed by the expert on a scientific matter [but it is not exempt from release]”
On geological information that may or may not reveal a location under consideration, the Deputy President stated:
“I do not consider that there would be significant harm from disclosing geological information about a particular site even if it could be inferred that the site is either ruled in or ruled out from further consideration as a location for storage or disposal of nuclear waste.”
Stop the secrecy!
Britten-Jones, whilst polite in his writings, was scathing of the secrecy approach being taken. One can just hope both ARWA and the Submarine Agency reflect on what he said.
He concluded his decision, “There is no harm in disclosing this material. To the contrary, it is in the public interest to disclose it because it would inform debate on a matter of public importance and it
would increase scrutiny, discussion, comment and review of the Government’s activities.
Tens of thousands of taxpayers’ dollars have been spent to date trying to keep AUKUS nuclear waste information from the public. The Government has 28 days to appeal the decision of the Federal Court and may well do so. That would likely cost in the hundreds of thousands – but it’s only more of your money they’d be spending on senseless secrecy.
Rex Patrick
Rex Patrick is a former Senator for South Australia and, earlier, a submariner in the armed forces. Best known as an anti-corruption and transparency crusader, Rex is also known as the “Transparency Warrior.”
1 This month.
PETITION – To: Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and the Australian Labor Government
Chernobyl: The Lost Tapes – A good documentary on Chernobyl on SBS available On Demand for the next 3 weeks– https://www.sbs.com.au/ondemand/tv-program/chernobyl-the-lost-tapes/235274195556
19 May – Webinar- Webinar: No Nuclear Weapons in Australia
Start: 2026-05-19 18:00:00 UTC Canberra, Melbourne, Sydney (GMT+10:00)
End: 2026-05-19 19:30:00 UTC Canberra, Melbourne, Sydney (GMT+10:00)
20 May – Webinar – The dangerous world of AUKUS, US, military occupation and suppression of dissent
National Webinar, 20th May, 2026, 6.30pm AEST. Confronting laws restricting/suppressing protest speech and action
Speakers: Former Sen. Rex Patrick, Lawyer Nick Hanna ,Arthur Rorris ,Jorgen Doyle, Sen David Shoebbridge,
Facilitator Kelley Tranter.
of the week – Australians for War Powers Reform (AWPR)
To see nuclear-related stories in greater depth and intensity
Antinuclear 