Activists land in Australia after being detained by Israeli military on Freedom Flotilla vessel
Caitlin Cassidy
Two activists have touched down in Australia after being intercepted and detained by the Israeli military while attempting to transport aid to Gaza on a Freedom Flotilla vessel.
Journalist Tania “Tan” Safi and human rights activist Robert Martin were among 21 activists on board the Handala ship when it was intercepted last Sunday and transported to Israel.
This morning, the pair landed at Sydney airport after enduring what they described as days of being “brutalised psychologically in every way”. Safi told reporters she was still “a little bit wobbly” and felt “very sore and weak”. But she said their vessel was the 37th Freedom Flotilla and it “will not be the last”.
Asked about the federal government’s holdout on recognising a Palestinian state, after Canada, France and the UK indicated they will do so at the UN general assembly in September, Robert told reporters:
What’s he waiting for? What actually is he waiting for? The death of every single Palestinian? … They are getting massacred, there is a genocide, they are ethnic cleansing … it must be done today.
The press conference at the airport concluded with the calls of “Free Palestine” as Safi and Robert were embraced by family, friends and supporters.
The Israeli embassy in Canberra was approached for comment.
Key events
The trade minister, Don Farrell, is speaking in Adelaide.
Ben Doherty
More on Australia dodging the latest tariff hike
Trump’s latest executive order castigated unnamed countries he felt had shown insufficient fealty to the US on trade. The order read:
Other trading partners, despite having engaged in negotiations, have offered terms that, in my judgment, do not sufficiently address imbalances in our trading relationship or have failed to align sufficiently with the United States on economic and national-security matters.
There are also some trading partners that have failed to engage in negotiations with the United States or to take adequate steps to align sufficiently with the United States on economic and national security matters.
The new executive order punishes small economies in particular, who have limited trading relationships with the US: Syria was given a 41% tariff rate, Myanmar and Laos 40%.
The EU has a split tariff rate: 0% on some goods, and 15% on others.
Read more here:
Government says no country has reciprocal tariffs lower than Australia
A spokesperson for the minister for trade, Don Farrell, just responded to the news that Australian imports into the US will continue to be subject to a 10% tariff, saying:
The White House has confirmed that no country has reciprocal tariffs lower than Australia.
While we remain in the best possible position under the United States’ new tariff regime, we will continue to advocate for the removal of all tariffs in line with our free trade agreement.
Activists land in Australia after being detained by Israeli military on Freedom Flotilla vessel
Caitlin Cassidy
Two activists have touched down in Australia after being intercepted and detained by the Israeli military while attempting to transport aid to Gaza on a Freedom Flotilla vessel.
Journalist Tania “Tan” Safi and human rights activist Robert Martin were among 21 activists on board the Handala ship when it was intercepted last Sunday and transported to Israel.
This morning, the pair landed at Sydney airport after enduring what they described as days of being “brutalised psychologically in every way”. Safi told reporters she was still “a little bit wobbly” and felt “very sore and weak”. But she said their vessel was the 37th Freedom Flotilla and it “will not be the last”.
Asked about the federal government’s holdout on recognising a Palestinian state, after Canada, France and the UK indicated they will do so at the UN general assembly in September, Robert told reporters:
What’s he waiting for? What actually is he waiting for? The death of every single Palestinian? … They are getting massacred, there is a genocide, they are ethnic cleansing … it must be done today.
The press conference at the airport concluded with the calls of “Free Palestine” as Safi and Robert were embraced by family, friends and supporters.
The Israeli embassy in Canberra was approached for comment.
Photos from last year’s Garma festival
Guardian Australia was at last year’s Garma festival. Here are some photos from that event as we prepare for this year’s.
See more here:
House prices climb higher once again
Lower interest rates have pushed house prices to a record high before another expected cut, AAP reports.
Home prices grew nationally at 0.6% in July, marking six consecutive months of increases that have driven median dwelling prices to $927,000 in the capital cities and $689,000 in the regions, property data firm Cotality has found.
This increase aligns with the Reserve Bank’s first rate cut in February and with more on the horizon, prices are only expected to accelerate. Cotality’s head of research, Eliza Owen, said:
Demand is on the rise once again and it’s clear that’s largely induced by recent rate cuts and expectations of further rate cuts this year. It’s coming at a time when supply is relatively constrained – both from a construction perspective, but also from a listings perspective – with far more people looking to buy themselves.
NSW politician says Sunday protest ‘absolutely inevitable’ after mishandling
NSW Labor MLC Stephen Lawrence decried what he called a “slow but steady demonisation of protest” in the state in a post explaining his support for Sunday’s march across the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
Lawrence wrote on social media:
The circumstances of this protest are not ideal, but the event is now absolutely inevitable, largely because of the way it has been mishandled. Police have a lot of respect in the community, but when it is perceived their operational powers are the subject of direction from a political actor their capacity to negotiate with protestors and resolve situations is undermined.
Leadership is sometimes about accepting the limits of your authority.
The presence of a large number of MP’s may make more likely authorities facilitating this event occuring safely on Sunday or agreeing to postpone it. I decline to leave activists, protestors, unionists and all the other good people to do this on their own.
Australian imports into US will be subject to 10% tariffs
Ben Doherty
Australian goods imported into the US will continue to attract the country’s baseline 10% tariff, with Australia dodging any tariff increase in the latest round of Donald Trump’s global trade war.
On Thursday night US time – Friday morning in Australia – Trump issued an executive order confirming new tariff deals for several trading partners, as well as revised tariffs for a number of other countries.
Australia is not mentioned in the Executive Order, which states that any countries not on the new list would remain at a 10% tariff rate. It reads:
Goods of any foreign trading partner that is not listed in Annex I to this order will be subject to an additional ad valorem rate of duty of 10 percent pursuant to the terms of Executive Order 14257.
The new tariff regime will take effect in seven days.
What are your rights to protest in NSW – and how have they changed?
It’s worth having a look at this great explainer from our own Jordyn Beazley after changes came in earlier this year.
Northern Territory changes to Youth Justice Act, including the return of spit hoods, pass parliament
A controversial plan to reinstate spit hoods in the Northern Territory’s youth detention centres passed parliament last night, as well as a slate of other changes to the territory’s Youth Justice Act.
As reported yesterday, spit hoods are set to return first the first time, reversing a ban imposed eight years ago.
The changes also include the removal of the principle of detention as a last resort. The courts would also be able to consider a young person’s full criminal history when sentencing them for adult offences.
Selena Uibo, leader of the opposition in the NT, sharply criticised the changes, saying they would do “nothing to prevent youth crime”:
This latest move is nothing more than chaos described as policy, a kneejerk reaction to mounting public pressure, not a real plan to break the cycle of youth offending.
Lawyers question NSW’s protest laws in open letter
In an open letter, lawyers have again questioned NSW’s protest laws and argued they run contrary to Australia’s civil rights obligations under an international treaty, AAP reports. Australian Lawyers for Human Rights vice president Kerry Weste said:
As a party to the core United Nations human rights treaties, Australia has recognised that freedom of assembly is a fundamental human right and, in consequence, NSW must protect it.
The right of peaceful assembly extends to all gatherings for peaceful purposes, wherever they take place. and regardless of whether they occur in the form of demonstrations, protests, meetings, processions, rallies, sit-ins, candle-lit vigils or even flash mobs.
The Uluru Dialogue asks: “how can we see any progress on Closing the Gap by doing more of the same?”
The statement adds:
The reality is, we’ve had 18 years to make progress on Closing the Gap, but the same people and institutions are still in charge of deciding what we do and what changes are made. …
The core of the voice campaign is that it would compel the government and the bureaucrats to consult. The entire purpose of Closing the Gap is aimed at supporting the most disadvantaged, tracking targets to improve the lives of First Nations People.
But where are they in this discussion? Have they had a seat at the table?
The answer is no.
The Uluru Dialogue says Closing the Gap is ‘going backwards’
The Uluru Dialogue just released a statement on the first day of the annual Garma festival. The group behind the Uluru Statement from the Heart said:
Enough is enough. There are no surprises, we are at the same place we were in March. The status quo. No real progress. …
Closing the Gap isn’t just stagnant… It’s going backwards because the data lags.
The group said while Garma is imminent, “we are tired of being told, yet again, that there is no progress on Closing the Gap, there is more to do, there is more data to get, there are more bureaucrats to convince …”
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And for good measure, the Newsroom edition of our Full Story podcast focuses on the Palestinian issue.
Reged Ahmad talks to deputy editor Patrick Keneally and head of newsroom Mike Ticher about Anthony Albanese’s decision to so far resist pressure pushing Australia towards Palestinian recognition.
NSW politicians share statement backing March for Humanity across Sydney Harbour Bridge
We’ve already mentioned Alex Greenwich’s support for Sunday’s March for Humanity across the Sydney Harbour Bridge – he’s among six NSW MPs in a 15-strong group of state politicians voicing their support for the protest and calling on the state government to allow it to proceed.
The other NSW MPs are Jacqui Scruby, Lynda Voltz, Kobi Shetty, Jenny Leong and Tamara Smith.
Leong and Voltz plan to join in person, while the other four said they are in full support, but unable to attend the event.
The MLCs who signed the statement, shared overnight, are Sue Higginson, John Ruddick, Cameron Murphy, Cate Faehrmann, Sarah Kaine, Abigail Boyd, Amanda Cohn, Anthony D’Adam and Stephen Lawrence. The statement reads:
We the undersigned members of the NSW Parliament support, and will attend, Sunday’s March for Humanity and Palestine across the harbour bridge.
We do so to signal in strong terms our disapproval of the ongoing starvation of Palestinian people and the destruction of Gaza and our commitment to the right to protest against it.
We call upon the NSW government to work with the organisers to facilitate a safe and orderly event, on Sunday 3 August, or on some other agreed date.
Thousands of people were expected to join the procession on Sunday to protest Israel’s war on the blockaded enclave, before police confirmed they would not permit it.
NSW police has taken court action to categorise it as unlawful and unauthorised, with the matter listed for 12.30pm today in the supreme court.
Burke says meeting with US FBI director ‘really good’
Burke spoke about the quiet meeting he held with US FBI director Kash Patel on Thursday. He told RN Breakfast the meeting was “really good”, describing it as “a great discussion of the different ways in which we keep people safe”. Burke went on:
There’s a whole range of issues we cooperate on, from things that people would think about in terms of counter-terrorism, but right through to some issues of foreign interference, but other issues of child protection. The cooperation is very real, very strong.
Tony Burke says Australia needs to be ‘clear-eyed’ about intelligence threats
Tony Burke, the minister for home affairs, said the government has invested more than $70m in the past four years to help combat espionage activities, but said Asio’s remarks were meant to recognise that bad actors were targeting Australia. He told RN Breakfast:
We need to be clear-eyed that there are people wanting to steal secrets, some of them government, some of them commercial. And when you’re clear-eyed about what’s happening, you can then sensibly take the measures to make it as hard as possible for them to do that.
Burke added the number of people mentioning their security clearances on social media had dropped since concerns were raised several years ago, noting:
For people who want to engage in espionage and foreign interference, their methods should not begin with a simple Google search to see who are the people who they would need.
