Defence caught up in cyber-attack
A communications platform used by the Department of Defence has been hit by a ransomware attack.
Hackers targeted the ForceNet service, which is run by an external provider.
Government officials said no data of serving or former military personnel appeared to have been compromised or stolen.
In an email to all staff, the Defence secretary said the matter was being taken “very seriously”.
The attack happened earlier this month.
– from AAP
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Victorian government announces sponsorship deal with Diamonds netball team
At the same time as the prime minister was speaking the Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has made an announcement that the Victorian government will sponsor the Diamonds Netball team.
Andrews says it’s a win-win deal for netballers and the tourism sector.
We are really thrilled today to be able to announce a 4.5-year sponsorship deal where Visit Victoria will become a significant sponsor for the Australian Diamonds netball team. This is a coup for our state.
This is all about supporting netball. Of course, our government has such a strong track record of doing that. Whether it be this stadium, this precinct, for community as well as elite netball, all the way through to our country footy netball club grants – $35 million, 550 projects right across our state, both in regional Victoria and in the outer suburbs.
We have supported netball very strongly. And this is just a really fantastic day for us to a have been able to secure this sponsorship deal.
Of course, players in that Diamonds team will wear the Visit Victoria logo. There will be social media content, digital content, advertising during big games. There’ll also be, court-side, a presence as well, taking what is the sports capital, the major events sports capital – food, wine, everything in between capital – of our nation.It’s all about encouraging more people to come here and visit Victoria.
There’ll be five test matches played in Melbourne. Five test matches played in Melbourne. There’ll be the 2023 Super Netball grand time played here in Melbourne. As I said, the uniform, logo, signage, promotional material, all manner of digital content – again, using the very best netballers in our country to project all that we offer nationally and internationally. That advertising’s really important. There’ll be access to players to promote Victorian tourism to promote so many of the wonderful offerings that we have to the world.
Albanese sends condolences to family of Australian killed in South Korean crowd crush
Albanese pays tribute to the Australian who is among the more than 150 people who have died in the Halloween crowd crush in Seoul.
My sincere condolences to the family of the Australian who’s died in this extraordinary tragedy where over 150 people have lost their lives.
These were people who were out celebrating Halloween, out to have a good time. And to come home safely. This tragedy has impacted people in South Korea in particular.
But it’s also impacted, in the harshest way possible, one Australian family, and other Australians who were hurt in this incident. And we just wish all of those people a very speedy recovery.
A reporter asks Albanese if the government knows anything about the identity of the Australian who died.
We do, but we’d like to talk to the families, and that information, first, for obvious reasons out of respect for them.
PM asked about US nuclear-capable bombers
Reporter:
Can you confirm that the US is preparing to deploy six nuclear-capable bombers to northern Australia?
Albanese:
We engage with our friends in the United States alliance from time to time – there are visits, of course, to Australia, including in Darwin, that has US Marines, of course, on a rotating basis stationed there.
Prime minister pays tribute to workers looking after natural disaster victims
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, is speaking in Melbourne following his visit to the national resilience centre at Mickleham this morning. The facility was previously a Covid quarantine facility but was converted into crisis accomodation for those affected by the floods in Victoria.
I visited the 125 Victorians using that facility because their homes have been affected by these dreadful flooding events. I met with the residents there, including families – one family with three young ones who are using that facility. I met people from Melbourne, as well as from Ballarat, from all around Victoria, including Rochester. People are using that facility. And the staff there are doing a fantastic job.
In one spot, they have Services Australia staff. They have healthcare. They have good food. So, whilst they’ve gone through such a tough time, they’re resilient. And they were up-beat about being looked after. What’s extraordinary about Australians is that, at the most difficult of times, they show the greatness of the Australian character.
And the people I spoke to all just kept saying, ‘Oh, we know there’s lots of people worse off than me’. But these people are doing it tough. But they’re resilient, they’re looking forward to either having their homes fixed up and being able to move back or, in some cases, that’s not going to be the case – they’re looking for new housing options.
But I pay tribute to all those people who are working so hard to look after Victorians and, indeed, throughout Australia, at this difficult time. We know there is some further wet weather ahead later this week. And I just say [to] people – stay safe. Follow the advice which is given by emergency services, by the SES, by the experts. Don’t take risks. Make sure you look after yourself.
Albanese also flagged that further flood support will be announced “in coming days”.
I had a discussion with the premier this morning, and again over the weekend, about further support that will be offered. And we’re working through those issues. There’ll be more announcements on that in coming days.
‘Peace and stability’ in the Pacific region a priority, US ambassador says
Caroline Kennedy says America will continue to work with allies to combat the rising influence of China in the region.
Her interview comes as it was revealed that Australia and the US will work together on projects in the Northern Territory and build a facility capable of housing six B-52 bombers and other aircraft.
Asked about how worrying China’s ambitions were in the context of that agreement being made, Kennedy says:
The region has faced increasing tensions, I know that because I served in Japan.
But America has, for the past 75 years, worked really hard to support the rules-based order that’s lifted millions of people out of poverty and really has supported peace and stability throughout this region. And that commitment hasn’t changed.
We do it through diplomacy, we do it through dialogue, we do it through deterrence.
Caroline Kennedy praises Australia: ‘America doesn’t have a stronger, closer ally’
The US ambassador to Australia, Caroline Kennedy, has spoken with ABC News Breakfast this morning in her first media interview since coming to the country.
Kennedy said “it’s such an important time to be ambassador” and that travelling across so much of the country since she’s arrived has been the “most amazing introduction”.
America doesn’t have a stronger, closer ally. I see that every day as I go around. Everyone’s been so friendly, it’s so beautiful. So I’m really honoured to be here.
When asked about the recent attack on the husband of Nancy Pelosi, Kennedy said she was “shocked and saddened” by the incident. Kennedy, who is the daughter of John F Kennedy, said Pelosi, has been “a friend of our family, for my whole life really”.
Does Kennedy believe Australians have cause to be concerned about the direction the United States is heading in?
Well, I couldn’t be prouder of my country and I think that some of this is very disturbing, and any kind of violence should never happen, especially in a democracy. So that’s concerning. But I think that the vast majority of Americans condemn it, and I think our democracy is strong, and most people in America are maybe not what you see in the media.
I think that American democracy has really been an inspiration for the world. People still want to come there. People still quote President Kennedy to me all the time in terms of public service and patriotism. I’m so proud of our democratic traditions, and I look forward to them becoming stronger in the future as well.
Four-day work week back on Victorian poll agenda
A four-day working week has been pushed back onto the Victorian election agenda despite both major parties rejecting the idea.
Victorian Greens leader Samantha Ratnam today pitched a $60m fund to help a transition to a four-day working week model.
Under the two-year trial, Victorian-owned entities and departments with less than $50m in annual turnover would be eligible to apply for the funding.
Female-dominated workplaces would be prioritised and the cash used to increase staff numbers in frontline workplaces, or support systems and technology within workplaces to adapt to a new schedule.
Workplaces would transition full-time staff to four days with no loss of pay or entitlements, while part-time workers would get a proportional reduction in working hours or an equivalent pay rise.
Similar pilot programs have been launched in Canada, the United States and Ireland, with outstanding results, Ratnam said. She said:
Workers often achieve the same or greater output, and with a much more reasonable work-life balance.
The Community and Public Sector Union has written to parties to ask for their position on a four-day week for its staff and the wider sector.
Premier Daniel Andrews and opposition leader Matthew Guy last week publicly declared they did not support the proposal.
Two weeks out from early voting centres opening, new polling indicates millions of Victorians are yet to make up their minds.
A Resolve Strategic survey of 800 voters, taken from October 20 to 24 and published in the Age today, found 27% of respondents were uncommitted.
The cohort equates to a quarter of Victoria’s four million-plus enrolled voters who could be swayed in the lead-up to the November 26 poll.
– from AAP
Defence caught up in cyber-attack
A communications platform used by the Department of Defence has been hit by a ransomware attack.
Hackers targeted the ForceNet service, which is run by an external provider.
Government officials said no data of serving or former military personnel appeared to have been compromised or stolen.
In an email to all staff, the Defence secretary said the matter was being taken “very seriously”.
The attack happened earlier this month.
– from AAP
Paul Karp
Jacqui Lambie doubts IR bill can be passed by Christmas
Senator Jacqui Lambie has also been toughening her rhetoric on the IR bill. On Thursday, Lambie said it would “be hard to do our due diligence” to pass the bill this year. On Monday Lambie warned on Sky News that many elements of the bill seemed designed to help union recruitment.
Lambie said:
Unions won’t be getting it all their goddamn way, I’ve had enough of them … Getting this through before Christmas, I doubt very, very much. Right now, it seems to be seeing all the union side of it and not about small business and big business. I’m really concerned about our small business and coming out of Covid … they’re just starting to get back on their feet. If we don’t get this right, we’re going lose small businesses.
Lambie also expressed concern that the bill might increase strike action – although the Australian Council of Trade Unions notes that in some respects it actually makes strike action harder, such as the new requirement for conciliation and the possibility FWC will arbitrate an “intractable” dispute.
Leftist candidate Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva wins Brazil election
The results have come through in Brazil’s election, with leftist Lula da Silva defeating the incumbent, Jair Bolsonaro.
You can follow what that means, and the reactions to the win, more closely on our live blog exclusively dedicated to that contest:
More than 500 illicit firearms seized, with rise in 3D printed guns an increasing concern
More than 500 firearms have been seized and scores of people arrested during a national crackdown on illicit firearms involving multiple law enforcement agencies.
Operation Athena, featuring police from jurisdictions across Australia and federal agencies including Australian Border Force (ABF) and Australian Federal Police (AFP), raided scores of properties between 23 October and 29 October.
More than 100 search warrants were executed during the coordinated strikes, leading to 86 arrests and netting 523 firearms as well as 209 firearm parts.
A number of gel blasters were seized, which are of increasing worry to authorities, given they can look identical to real handguns, shotguns and rifles.
Numerous people were also arrested for allegedly making hybrid 3D printed guns, another area of growing concern.
ABF assistant commissioner East Erin Dale today said border force officers were highly skilled in targeting suspect consignments and detecting firearms. He said in a statement:
ABF and its federal and state and territory law enforcement partners will continue to target people who attempt to import firearms, parts or accessories such as silencers into Australia without a proper permit.
This highly successful week of action shows the ABF is determined to stop illicit firearms ending up on Australian streets.
– from AAP
