War crime apologists undermine our Australian values I’m a veteran of 20 years. War crime apologists don’t speak for us. Like many who have served, I was deeply shaken by the Brereton Report in November 2020. The war crimes detailed across its 530 pages...

The Brereton Report made clear that none of the alleged crimes occurred in the heat of battle

The true heroes are the soldiers who...testified against war crimes. Those who dismiss this brave group have not engaged with the report’s findings or the culture it reveals
thepoint.com.au/opinions/260...

Make a new one. No one wants Fascists for lunch.

National Press Club copping heavy criticism AGAIN

I reported on the arms industry's infiltration of the NPC in Nov (after it cancelled Chris Hedges)

More than a quarter of the NPC’s sponsors are part of the global arms industry or working on its behalf

undueinfluence.substack.com/p/arms-indus...

Alice Springs locals conflicted over spy base's role in Iran war Residents with family in the Middle East are grappling with the part the highly secretive Pine Gap base may be playing in the Iran war from their own backyard.

Professor Richard Tanter is an Australian expert on Pine Gap. He says Pine Gap has assisted American wars for a long time.

"Intelligence enables military violence," he says.

"Intelligence makes you part of a war. We have allowed this to happen for a very long time."

www.abc.net.au/news/2026-03...

Media Lens (@medialens) ‘American sanctions from 1971 to 2021…murdered 38 million people.’ Political scientist John Mearsheimer criticised US foreign policy and cited a report by The Lancet that says US sanctions have kille...

Mearsheimer on the US:

"I think that we're an incredibly ruthless country... The amount of murder and mayhem that we have created around the world is just unbelievable..."

He quotes The Lancet Nov 2025, saying US sanctions alone murdered 38 million people 1971-2021

substack.com/@medialens/n...

Geoffrey Watson on ABC Late Night Live reflecting on NACC Robodebt report, his involvement in drafting the NACC Act:

• Says minutes of executive meeting under Brereton 'expressed a misunderstanding of its jurisdiction'.

• NACC 'scared of stepping out of line', a 'culture created by the leader':

‘Just dismantle it’: Rick Morton on the public service, NACC and closing the chapter on robodebt The competing stories told by the royal comission and the NACC report leave many of the people involved in robodebt in perpetual limbo.

“It feels like I’ve gone insane by watching people who clearly did the wrong thing, just kind of move on with their lives.” Rick Morton unpacks the NACC robodebt report on the Crikey podcast.

www.crikey.com.au/2026/03/20/r...

Suburban hobby shops turn international arms dealers of drone age You can't buy a tank at a car dealership or a jet fighter at duty free, but in 2026 you can get a small missile at a hobby shop. What's going on?

ABC:
In our new age of drones, suburban hobby shops are international arms dealers...

Opening up "access to the air" [is] also dangerous...

"It blurs all distinction between legal and criminal, between civilian and military, between law enforcement and criminality."

www.abc.net.au/news/science...

Absolutely. Devastating.

“Not satisfactory” has got to be one of the greatest understatements of all time.

the Centre for Public Integrity must have an awful lot on their plate right now

Yes
I expect it's not over at all
Good on him!!!

The government is sanitising Australia’s involvement in the Iran war Australia’s support for US and Israeli action against Iran highlights a growing reliance on military responses over diplomacy and international law.

"Australia has lost its way as a supposedly peace-loving nation when the only thing we can think of to help oppressed people is to support the illegal bombing of their country."

johnmenadue.com/post/2026/03...

What percentage of Australia’s toilet paper supply is shipped through the Strait of Hormuz?
Colin Nicholson, Brunswick West
The Age, letters

Not satisfactory at all: Geoffrey Watson on the NACC'S Robodebt findings - ABC listen "I don't feel like it's satisfactory at all." Geoffrey Watson SC, has compared the sealed section of the Holmes Royal Commission into Robodebt with the recent findings by the National Anti-Corruption ...

18 mins worth listening to..
Geoffrey Watson from the Centre for Public Integrity on the NACC's Robodebt Report
www.abc.net.au/listen/progr...

The NACC robodebt report: A heartbreaking work of staggering incompetence Rick Morton wrote the book on robodebt. He delivers a damning verdict on the NACC's long-awaited robodebt report, which exonerated Scott Morrison and Kathryn Campbell.

Rick Morton on the NACC's second Robodebt decision

ICYMI

www.crikey.com.au/2026/03/13/n...

Petition: Overhaul Australia’s outdated federal lobbying laws Working together for a fairer democracy

AHOY! Petition to overhaul Australia’s federal lobbying laws. Asks:

Lobbying definition to cover ‘in-house’ corporate lobbyists

Make ministerial diaries public

Extend ‘cooling off’ period & stop revolving door b/w govt & industry

Independent regulator

australiandemocracy.org.au/petition-lob...

Petition: Overhaul Australia’s outdated federal lobbying laws Working together for a fairer democracy

AHOY! Petition to overhaul Australia’s federal lobbying laws. Asks:

Lobbying definition to cover ‘in-house’ corporate lobbyists

Make ministerial diaries public

Extend ‘cooling off’ period & stop revolving door b/w govt & industry

Independent regulator

australiandemocracy.org.au/petition-lob...

Australia’s shameless support for the US attack on Iran makes us gullible, duplicitous, or both | Allan Behm For Anthony Albanese – as well as Mark Carney and Keir Starmer – to go along with Trump and Netanyahu’s cynical ploy negates any sense of moral authority we possess – a catastrophe for the rules-based...

Allan Behm takes a blowtorch to govt BS

"For a country that is constantly trumpeting the essentiality of the international rules-based order in preserving global peace and stability, Australia is shameless in its ability to slide into the American slipstream."

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

As the Administration Launches Strikes Against Iran, Congress Must Reclaim Its Constitutional War Powers Only Congress can declare war — Trump’s military actions in Iran are illegal

The US Constitution is clear: Congress has the sole authority to declare war.
Trump's attack on Iran, conducted without congressional approval, is yet another flagrant abuse of power.
The US Constitution requires the people’s representatives to make these decisions.
www.pogo.org/press-center...

Deputy chief of army warns ADF has become 'detached' from violent nature of war Major General Chris Smith delivered an excoriating address to a major conference last year, declaring "managerial and advertising logic and double speak" had "polluted" the military.

Deputy Chief of Army Major General Chris Smith has attacked the "unavoidable creep of managerial speak" within the Aust Defence Force.

He says failure to speak directly about the reality of war's "violent nature" is a sign of "something rotten" within the profession

www.abc.net.au/news/2026-02...

Australia acquires long-lead items for AUKUS submarines - Australian Defence Magazine The Government has announced a $310 million payment for the acquisition of long‑lead items from the United Kingdom to support Australia’s future sovereign conventionally‑armed, nuclear‑powered submari...

“This [$310m] will directly support the manufacture of critical components for [the] nuclear‑powered submarines... incl the nuclear propulsion systems...
Under AUKUS, the UK will deliver complete welded nuclear propulsion systems for [the] Aust‑built subs
www.australiandefence.com.au/news/news/au...

AUKUS concerns brushed aside as SA's mass job opps revealed - News | InDaily, Inside South Australia The gigantic scale of construction to build and maintain AUKUS submarines has been revealed with the government on the hook for billions in coming decades.

Never trust a politician - or an arms company - when they need to focus on a comparatively meagre number of jobs to justify tens of billions of $$$ for weapons.

Claims about new weapons-making jobs are rubbery, routinely inflated, and never verified afterwards

www.indailysa.com.au/news/just-in...

Independent inquiry launched into NACC chief's handling of defence ties The body responsible for holding the federal integrity watchdog to account will formally investigate it for agency maladministration and its chief, Paul Brereton, for officer misconduct.

NACC Inspector decided that information she's examined from NACC warrants agency maladministration/officer misconduct investigation

NACC boss was found to have engaged in "officer misconduct" re Robodebt conflict. Now he'll be investigated again re defence conflicts

www.abc.net.au/news/2026-02...

Former attorney-general warned anti-corruption chief over conflicts A letter from Mark Dreyfus to Paul Brereton provides new insight into the expectations set for the inaugural chief of the anti-corruption watchdog.

Former attorney-general Mark Dreyfus warned Paul Brereton he would need to "actively manage" or "ideally, avoid" any perceived conflicts of interest related to defence, ahead of him taking on the role of national anti-corruption commissioner.

www.abc.net.au/news/2026-02...

Judge criticises Abbott's 'misconceived' comments over harbour bridge protest The former prime minister said it should not be for judges to decide when a political protest was justified, which are remarks NSW's top judge called "regrettable".

Chief Justice Bell said...attacks that betrayed an "ignorance" of the law and the judge's reasoning...were a form of misinformation that undermined trust in the judiciary and the rule of law...
"That is regrettable to say the least. Some might call it irresponsible."

www.abc.net.au/news/2026-02...

Wonderful Chris Sidoti is dropping very big truth bombs all over Herzog’s visit on the ABC.

‘It’s a mistake. it’s nuts’
One of the most divisive figures in the world’ #auspol

Corruption body chief asked to explain himself after Defence ties emerged Attorney-General Michelle Rowland asked Paul Brereton to explain why his ongoing ties to Defence had not been "adequately" disclosed in a letter sent last year.

AG Rowland sent NACC boss Brereton 'please explain' letter

Brereton under sustained pressure over Defence links after revelations he continued consulting for Afghanistan War Crimes Inquiry & did so on the NACC's time w/out the knowledge of the NACC or the government

www.abc.net.au/news/2026-02...

Unpaywalled here
archive.md/p1G2f

Trump leaves 'door wide open' to nuclear arms race The last remaining nuclear arms pact between the United States and Russia has come to an end at a time of global instability.

Gareth Evans said the New START treaty was the "last remaining legal check" on the size of US & Russian nuclear arsenals

"This is the end of 50 years of effort at nuclear arms control, and it opens the door wide to a new nuclear arms race. It's a terrifying prospect"

www.abc.net.au/news/2026-02...