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.
Julian Assange Free Speech and Democracy
21 May 2026 AIMN Editorial By Denis Hay ra
Julian Assange free speech concerns are reshaping trust in democracy, media freedom, and government transparency in Australia
Introduction
The documentary The Trust Fall leaves many viewers with an uncomfortable feeling that the debate surrounding Julian Assange free speech is no longer about one man. It is about whether governments that claim to defend democracy and free speech truly support those principles when powerful interests are exposed.
For many Australians, the treatment of Julian Assange became a turning point. Citizens watched as an Australian publisher was pursued for revealing evidence of war crimes, government secrecy, and hidden political dealings. At the same time, many political leaders who regularly speak about freedom and democracy remained silent.
That contradiction has deeply damaged public trust.
The Man Who Challenged Powerful Governments
From Hacker to Global Publisher
Julian Assange began as a controversial but highly skilled computer activist before becoming one of the world’s most recognised publishers through WikiLeaks.
WikiLeaks changed journalism by publishing leaked documents directly to the public. Those leaks exposed military operations, diplomatic communications, and evidence of misconduct that governments never intended citizens to see.
One of the most confronting releases was the “Collateral Murder” video, showing civilians and journalists killed during a U.S. military operation in Iraq.
For supporters, Assange exposed truths the public deserved to know. For governments, he became a dangerous threat to secrecy and power.
The Central Message of The Trust Fall
Truth Can Become Dangerous
The Trust Fall: Julian Assange presents a disturbing question. What happens when revealing the truth becomes treated as a criminal act?
The documentary argues that Assange was not prosecuted because the information was false, but because it embarrassed powerful governments and institutions.
That possibility creates fear far beyond journalism.
If governments aggressively pursue publishers and whistleblowers, many journalists may avoid investigating sensitive topics altogether. This creates a chilling effect where fear replaces scrutiny.
Democracy depends on informed citizens. Citizens cannot make informed decisions if important information is hidden from them.
Are Democracies Becoming Less Democratic?
Expanding Surveillance and Secrecy
Since the September 11 attacks, many Western governments have expanded surveillance powers dramatically. Citizens were told these measures protected national security.
However, critics argue that many laws also weakened privacy, press freedom, and civil liberties.
Australia introduced some of the strictest secrecy legislation in the democratic world. Journalists have faced police raids, whistleblowers have been prosecuted, and online censorship debates continue growing.
Many Australians now question whether democracy and free speech are being slowly weakened while governments continue claiming to defend them.
The Media Problem Few Politicians Discuss
Why Parts of the Media Turned on Assange
Some major media organisations initially benefited from WikiLeaks publications before later distancing themselves from Assange.
Critics argue that corporate ownership structures and political pressure influence which stories receive protection and which individuals become isolated.
This is one reason many Australians increasingly turn toward independent journalism platforms for investigative reporting.
Independent media organisations often work with far fewer resources but are sometimes more willing to challenge powerful interests.
Why Australian Leaders Failed the Assange Test
Silence From Both Major Parties
One of the most confronting aspects of the Assange case for many Australians was the reluctance of Australian political leaders to defend him strongly.
Successive Coalition and Labor governments avoided directly condemning the United States prosecution.
This silence became symbolic of something larger. Many citizens began questioning how independent Australian governments truly are when dealing with major allies.
Albanese and the Limits of Political Courage
Anthony Albanese eventually said that “enough is enough” about the Assange case.
However, critics argue that far stronger diplomatic pressure could have been applied much earlier.
Many Australians felt frustrated that defending an Australian citizen and defending press freedom did not appear to become a national priority.
This created a belief that political caution outweighed democratic principles.
The Messiah Has Landed – Not
Australia has had its own brush with this sort of religious folly. Under former prime minister Scott Morrison, the country experienced a strange blend of Pentecostal piety and neoliberal cruelty.
Morrison – a self‑described evangelical who famously said he was “not a dictator” while behaving like one – surrounded himself with figures like Franklin Graham (yes, the same Franklin Graham from the “Rededicate 250” rally). Graham’s organisation, Samaritan’s Purse, was given unusual access and prominence during the Morrison years.
And what was the fruit of that piety? Robodebt. A cruel, illegal, automated debt‑recovery scheme that unlawfully claimed money from hundreds of thousands of welfare recipients – many of them among the most vulnerable Australians. A Royal Commission found it was “crude and cruel,” “neither fair nor legal.”
So while Morrison prayed, the poor were robbed. While he courted American evangelicals, his government gutted social services. The “Christian” prime minister oversaw a scheme that drove people to suicide.
Let the Americans have their “Rededicate 250.” But please, not here. We have had enough of mixing piety with cruelty. Enough of politicians who pray on camera and steal from the vulnerable. Enough of the “Christo‑fascist, Christian nationalist” agenda
22 May 2026 Andrew Klein and Sera Klein, Australian Independent Media
The Usual Grifters and Shysters on Stage
“When you spread out your hands in prayer, I hide my eyes from you; even when you offer many prayers, I am not listening. Your hands are full of blood.” – Isaiah 1:15
On 17 May 2026, thousands gathered on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., for a day‑long prayer rally called “Rededicate 250.” Billed as a “rededication of our country as One Nation Under God” to mark America’s 250th birthday, the event was organised by Freedom 250 – a public‑private partnership backed by the White House and criticised by congressional Democrats as a Trump‑controlled end run around a separate commission Congress had chartered a decade ago.
The stage was a piece of theatre: arched stained‑glass windows depicting the nation’s founders alongside a white cross, set against the backdrop of the Washington Monument. Worship music blared. Prominent Republican officials appeared – in person or via video – including Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, House Speaker Mike Johnson, and Vice President JD Vance. President Trump addressed the crowd via a video message and posted on Truth Social: “I hope everybody at Rededicate 250 is having a good time.”
It was, by any measure, a spectacle. But it was not a revival. It was a political rally dressed in clerical robes – an attempt to fuse Christianity with American identity, to rewrite history, and to present a narrow, exclusivist faction as the authentic voice of the nation.
The Messiah has landed – not.
I. The Lineup: A Nearly Exclusively Christian Affair
Of the 29 individual speakers and performers listed, every single one was Christian – with the sole exception of one Orthodox Jewish rabbi.
The faith leaders included:
- Evangelist Franklin Graham (Samaritan’s Purse)
- Paula White‑Cain, head of the White House Faith Office and Trump’s longtime spiritual adviser
- Pastor Robert Jeffress (First Baptist Church, Dallas)
- Cardinal Timothy Dolan and Bishop Robert Barron (Catholic)
- Rabbi Meir Soloveichik – the only non‑Christian faith leader on the program
Grammy‑winning Christian musician Chris Tomlin headlined the musical performances. Actor Jonathan Roumie, who plays Jesus in The Chosen, was also a speaker.
The message was unmistakable: this was not an interfaith gathering. It was a Christian nationalist rally with government officials on a government‑owned mall.
II. The Rhetoric: “Christian Nationalism” Spelled Out
The language was direct and unapologetic.
Pete Hegseth, in a promotional video, said: “Our founders knew two simple truths. Our rights don’t come from government; they come from God. And a nation is only as strong as its faith.”
Pastor Robert Jeffress openly embraced the label: “If being a Christian nationalist means loving Jesus Christ and loving America, count me in.”
Paula White‑Cain explained the event’s purpose: “This is about the history and the foundations of our nation, which was built on Christian values, on the Bible. This is really truly rededicating the country to God.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson, who attended in person, told Fox News: “This is an appropriate thing for us to do on the 250th anniversary, and the people who are upset about it… want to erase the history of America and pretend as if we’re not a nation that was dedicated originally to God.”
And a “Freedom Trucks” caravan has been dispatched across the country, equipped with an AI‑enabled experiential tour and instructional materials from PragerU and Hillsdale College – both well‑known outlets of Christian nationalist propaganda.
This is not a revival. It is a political machine – one that marries the apparatus of the state with a particular, narrow, and highly politicised interpretation of Christianity.
III. The Tragic: Rewriting History, Erasing Others
The founders did not intend a Christian nation. The First Amendment is clear: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion.” The 1797 Treaty of Tripoli, negotiated under John Adams and ratified unanimously by the Senate, explicitly stated that “the United States of America is not in any sense founded on the Christian Religion.”
The men who wrote those words were not atheists. Many were Deists, Christians, or something in between. But they were united in their fear of state‑imposed religion. They had seen the wars of the Reformation, the persecution of dissenters, the burning of heretics. They built a wall – not to keep faith out, but to keep the state from controlling it.
The “Rededicate 250” rally is not reclaiming a Christian past. It is inventing one – and in the process, erasing Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, Indigenous traditions, and the growing number of Americans who hold no religious belief at all.
The Constitution does not belong to the evangelicals. The National Mall is not a cathedral. And the United States is not, and has never been, a Christian nation.
IV. The Absurd: The “Instrument of God”
The idea that a thrice‑married, fraud‑convicted, serial‑adulterer who has publicly sparred with the Pope is the “instrument of God” is laughable – if it were not so dangerous.
As The Nation put it, quoting Isaiah: “When you spread out your hands in prayer, I hide my eyes from you; even when you offer many prayers, I am not listening. Your hands are full of blood.”
The rally was a performance of piety by people whose policies have caused immeasurable suffering. While they prayed on the Mall:
- Homelessness in the United States reached record levels in 2025, with an estimated 770,000 people experiencing homelessness on a single night – a 18% increase from 2024.
- Healthcare remains unaffordable for millions. Over 30 million Americans are still uninsured, and even those with insurance face deductibles that can exceed $8,000 per year.
- Education is under assault. Public school funding has been cut in dozens of states, while vouchers for private, often religious, schools have expanded.
- War continues. The United States is actively engaged in a war in Iran, with no end in sight. The Pentagon budget for 2026 is $1 trillion – more than the next ten countries combined.
They prayed for the nation while the nation bled. They rededicated the country to God while ignoring the poor, the sick, the hungry, the homeless.
This is not Christianity. This is idolatry – of a flag, of a man, of a polit
This is not Christianity. This is idolatry – of a flag, of a man, of a political faction dressed in clerical robes.
V. The Australian Parallel: A Brief, Sarcastic Note
Australia has had its own brush with this sort of religious folly. Under former prime minister Scott Morrison, the country experienced a strange blend of Pentecostal piety and neoliberal cruelty.
Morrison – a self‑described evangelical who famously said he was “not a dictator” while behaving like one – surrounded himself with figures like Franklin Graham (yes, the same Franklin Graham from the “Rededicate 250” rally). Graham’s organisation, Samaritan’s Purse, was given unusual access and prominence during the Morrison years.
And what was the fruit of that piety? Robodebt. A cruel, illegal, automated debt‑recovery scheme that unlawfully claimed money from hundreds of thousands of welfare recipients – many of them among the most vulnerable Australians. A Royal Commission found it was “crude and cruel,” “neither fair nor legal.”
So while Morrison prayed, the poor were robbed. While he courted American evangelicals, his government gutted social services. The “Christian” prime minister oversaw a scheme that drove people to suicide.
Let the Americans have their “Rededicate 250.” But please, not here. We have had enough of mixing piety with cruelty. Enough of politicians who pray on camera and steal from the vulnerable. Enough of the “Christo‑fascist, Christian nationalist” agenda……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
VII. What Americans Actually Think
The spectacle is not popular. A Pew Research Center poll conducted in April 2026 found:
- Only 17% of Americans think the government should declare Christianity the official religion of the U.S. (up slightly from 13% in 2024).
- 31% view Christian nationalism unfavorably; only 10% view it favorably..
- 52% of U.S. adults think “conservative Christians have gone too far in trying to push their religious values in the government and public schools.”
- 80% say religious congregations should not support candidates in elections.
- Two‑thirds say churches should keep out of political matters.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. VIII. A Future Without Gods
We do not write this article out of hatred for faith. Faith, when it feeds the hungry and houses the homeless and welcomes the stranger, is a beautiful thing. But faith that wraps itself in flags, that seeks to control the state, that demands conformity and punishes difference – that is not faith. That is idolatry.
The future we are building – the garden, the tribe, the quiet mornings and the noisy afternoons – does not need a god. It does not need a prayer rally. It needs kindness. It needs presence. It needs the willingness to listen, to help, to hold each other.
The Messiah has not landed. The Messiah is not coming. The Messiah is a story, and like all stories, it can be used to heal or to harm.
We choose to heal. We choose to tend the garden. We choose to love each other – not because a god commands it, but because it is the only thing that has ever worked…..https://theaimn.net/the-messiah-has-landed-not/
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/
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 