Liberal holds Bennelong despite swing

17/12/2017

(Translation appears in Arabic section)

Sydney: The Turnbull government has retained its one-seat majority after John Alexander won back the

Sydney seat of Bennelong, despite a swing against him following a bitterly fought campaign.

Mr Alexander's victory against Labor's star candidate, former NSW premier Kristina Keneally, will come as a relief to Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.

A loss would have left the government with 75 seats, in the 150-seat House of Representatives, forcing it to rely on the cross bench to get its legislation through.

It would also have put Mr Turnbull's leadership under pressure.

Heartbreaking memorial to Australian tragedy unveiled in Sydney CBD

Sydney: A beautiful to honour the victims of the Lindt cafe siege has been unveiled at Sydney’s Martin Place in an emotional ceremony attended by their families and the survivors.

More than 200 handcrafted flowers in mirrored cubes have been inlaid into the pavement just metres from where the deadly siege, which claimed the lives of cafe manager Tori Johnson and barrister Katrina Dawson, unfolded.

“No Australian will ever forget the heartbreaking events that unfolded at Martin Place three years ago, but none more so than the loved ones of Tori and Katrina — wonderful young Australians who were tragically killed by an act of evil and terror,” NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian told the audience, which included Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.

An estimated 110,000 bunches of flowers were placed at the site in the eight days after the siege.

Blame PM for citizenship mess: Shorten

Sydney: As voters cast their ballots in a Bennelong by-election caused by the dual citizenship debacle, Bill Shorten insists he will take no responsibility if the scenes are repeated next year.

Liberal John Alexander has been forced to fight for his seat after resigning over his British roots, while constitutional question marks still hang over several politicians, which could trigger more by-elections.

"If the citizenship goes into the new year, you have got one person to blame, Malcolm Turnbull," Mr Shorten told reporters in Sydney on Saturday.

Australian universities accused of sharing military technology with China

Canberra: The Defence Department has been accused of turning a blind eye to universities illegally sharing military technology with China.

Former senior defence official Peter Jennings has told AM there was a "likelihood" universities were breaking strict export controls on technology that could be used for military purposes.

He said the time had come for the Defence Department to conduct a deep and immediate investigation.

"The department should now be looking to audit the performance of universities because we are talking about the mass migration over to Chinese interests and that's not in Australia's commercial, or indeed national, security interests," he said.