Australia politics live: defence industry minister to spruik Labor’s ‘progressive patriotism’ as audits reveal waste | Australian politics
Progressive patriotism underpinning defense strategy: Conroy
Tom McIlroy
Minister of Defense Industry, Pat ConroyHe says strong national defense and a strong industry to provide the equipment needed to protect Australia are part of the government’s “progressive patriotism”.
Conroy will speak at the National Press Club in Canberra today, arguing that Labor, not the Coalition, is the real defense and national security party.
The speech will coincide with the unveiling of the 2026 Defense Industry Development Strategy and the unveiling of details on the government’s defense reform process. It has already been reported that Conroy will spend approximately $30 billion in waste on defense projects. An audit found that the average cost of a small sample of projects increased by nearly 40%, or $29 billion, before contracts were finalized.
Conroy will tell you.
In the eyes of the Albanian government and the greater labor movement, progressive patriotism is confidence in and celebration of what our national project has built.
It is confidence in how it develops and in the future. A strong defense of our country, including the need to invest in our defense industry, people and systems, is a critical part of understanding what Australian progressive patriotism looks like today.
Building our defense industry, providing the capabilities we need, is an investment in our country and provides greater deterrence to protect what our great national project has built.
We’ll tell you more about the conversation at lunch today.
important events
2 million dollars in humanitarian aid to Venezuela
The government announced that it would send $2 million in humanitarian aid to Venezuela following the earthquake last month.
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Penny WongHe said the full extent of the tragedy was still emerging and the death toll, which has already reached thousands, was expected to rise in the coming days.
The government says the funding will be provided through partners such as the Red Cross and the UN, and will contribute alongside other countries, including the US and UK, to provide emergency food, shelter, water, hygiene and psychosocial support.
Wong said in his statement:
Our thoughts are with the people of Venezuela, the Australian-Venezuelan community and everyone affected by the devastating earthquakes in Venezuela. Australia’s humanitarian assistance will support access to food, shelter, medical care and other essential services.
Krishani Dhanji
Good morning, Krishani Dhanji here with you. Thanks to Martin Farrer for starting us.
It’s the last sitting day of the week, but after last night’s big Midwinter Ball there may be a few more tired eyes than usual perusing the halls (and press gallery corridors).
Today the government’s main legislative game will be gambling, and its reforms will be presented to the Parliament today. They don’t currently have anyone to get this through the Senate, but yesterday the opposition suggested they were working with Labor and hoped to “get the balance right”. The Greens also suggested they could hold talks with the Coalition to force Labor to make the bill stronger. We’ll see how this plays out today.
Let’s go crazy!
Best dressed at Canberra’s Midwinter Ball
It was Canberra’s night of nights last night with the staging of the Midwinter Ball in the press gallery.
As is customary, the political classes donned their best clothes and headed out to where photographers were on hand to record their fashion efforts for posterity.
The grandiose meeting took place under the critical eye of our own ministers. Caitlin Cassidyjudging the Labor Party Anne Aly To be the best on the field among women. Aly shared on social media that she actually knitted her dress herself!
Tanya Plibersekhusband Michael Coutts-Trotter He defiantly accepted Caitlin’s men’s award in his jacket that wasn’t black.
Check out our gallery here:
Taiwanese man charged with human trafficking operation
A Taiwanese man has been charged in connection with a botched human smuggling operation that stunned campers who saw a boat carrying foreign nationals land on a remote beach, Australia’s Associated Press reported.
The group of newcomers stunned holidaymakers when they were spotted on the northern Queensland coast and arrested near a bar before visiting a local bakery. David Kemptonin question.
About 12 people, believed to be Chinese, arrived at the remote camping spot by boat early Tuesday before heading to nearby Weipa on Cape York Peninsula.
The 34-year-old Taiwanese national was arrested in a supermarket parking lot in Weipa on Tuesday after suspicious activity was reported in the area.
Police later charged the man with aggravated human trafficking involving at least five people.
After appearing in Cairns magistrates’ court yesterday, he was remanded in custody ahead of his next hearing today.
If convicted, the man faces up to 20 years in prison.
Another man, aged 30, was also detained by police pending further investigation.
Progressive patriotism underpinning defense strategy: Conroy
Tom McIlroy
Minister of Defense Industry, Pat ConroyHe says strong national defense and strong industry to provide the equipment needed to protect Australia are part of the government’s “progressive patriotism”.
Conroy will speak at the National Press Club in Canberra today, arguing that Labor, not the Coalition, is the real defense and national security party.
The speech will coincide with the unveiling of the 2026 Defense Industry Development Strategy and the unveiling of details on the government’s defense reform process. It has already been reported that Conroy will spend approximately $30 billion in waste on defense projects. An audit found that the average cost of a small sample of projects increased by nearly 40%, or $29 billion, before contracts were finalized.
Conroy will tell you.
In the eyes of the Albanian government and the greater labor movement, progressive patriotism is confidence in and celebration of what our national project has built.
It is confidence in how it develops and in the future. A strong defense of our country, including the need to invest in our defense industry, people and systems, is a critical part of understanding what Australian progressive patriotism looks like today.
Building our defense industry, providing the capabilities we need, is an investment in our country and provides greater deterrence to protect what our great national project has built.
We’ll tell you more about the conversation at lunch today.
Welcome
Good morning and welcome to our live politics blog. I Martin Farrer with the best night stories and then it will be Krishani Dhanji with the main action.
We’ll wrap up some of the night’s news before Krishani takes the stage, and we’ll also give you a preview of the defense industry minister’s press club speech today. Pat Conroy.
He argues that Labor is the natural party of defense these days because of what he describes as an ideal of “progressive patriotism”. We will provide more information about this soon.
