The Catholic Church is ‘disgraced’ by ‘selling out to China’: Bolt

17/10/2020

(See Translation in Arabic section)

Sydney - M E Times Int'l: Andrew Bolt says the Catholic Church was one of the most reliable enemies of dictatorships everywhere, but now it is “selling out to China”.

It comes amid the renewal of a “secret deal” with the Chinese government, in which China, not the Vatican, can “appoint bishops in China”, according to Mr Bolt.

 “I’m not a Christian, I’m not pushing my own barrier here, but I do care very much when the Catholic Church sells out to a dictatorship like China,” he said.

“Not just because that sell-out makes a dangerous regime even more dangerous, but because whether you’re Catholic or not, the fact is that the Catholic Church has been one of the most reliable enemies of dictatorships everywhere.

 “It was against Hitler, it was against the Communists and now it’s selling out to China.

 “All true Christians believe humans should be free, so what a disgrace.”

“Gladys Berejiklian ..., she has been an extraordinary leader,” PM Scott Morrison said

Sydney: Former MP Daryl Maguire has sensationally confessed to hiding shady information from his ex-partner New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian because it would “reflect badly” on her.

 The disgraced former NSW MP faced tough questions for a final day over corruption allegations – and the nature of his five-year relationship with the premier.

Mr Maguire also confessed to misusing his office by giving Ms Berejiklian’s private email to property developer Louise Waterhouse – telling the racing heir to keep it under wraps.

Ms Berejiklian maintained she was left in the dark – forced to fend off pressure to resign.

 “What’s the test for you to resign?” she was asked.

“When I’ve done something wrong,” she said.

The Liberal Party has supported Ms Berejiklian.

 “Gladys Berejiklian is the premier that NSW needs in these difficult times, she has been an extraordinary leader,” Prime Minister Scott Morrison said.

“The premier has been out fronting up, facing up every single day, she is not under investigation by the ICAC,” NSW Treasurer Dominic Perrottet said.

 Mr Maguire was also interrogated about destroying evidence before his 2018 ICAC appearance.

PM asks Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews to reopen state

Canberra: Prime Minister Scott Morrison has pleaded with the Victorian Premier to reopen the state and go “as far as possible” when easing restrictions on Sunday.

Praising Victorians for having “kept up their side of the bargain” and bearing the burden of the strict coronavirus lockdown measures he urged them to be allowed more freedom.

“At some time, you’ve got to step off the shore and start moving forward again,’’ he said.

“They are all decisions for the Victorian Premier, but I know Victorians are hoping on the weekend they’ll see some significant relief from the significant impositions that have been there that have been put in place by the Victorian government to get this second wave under control.

“We cannot be complacent about this. We see what is happening in Europe at the moment – devastating results there, further restrictions coming in, curfews in major European cities.

 “Some 70,000 jobs have been lost in Victoria over the last two months. The impact on the mental health and anxiety of Melburnians,’’ he said.

While the Treasurer Josh Frydenberg and other Victorian MPs have stepped up the pressure in recent days it’s the first time that Mr Morrison has issued such a direct plea for the restrictions to be lifted on Sunday.

Mr Morrison flew into Sydney this afternoon after being forced to cancel the national cabinet meeting after his VIP plane experienced “technical difficulties” and he couldn’t fly out of Cairns overnight.

He also revealed plans for new mercy flights to bring Australians home from the UK, South Africa and India.

Federal Government vision failing vulnerable: Albanese

Sydney: Excerpts of speech by Federal Opposition leader Anthony Albanese to the 2020 NSW Labor (online) convention.

When it comes to delivering surprises, 2020 is the year that just won’t quit.

But in this time of upheaval, we at least have the Liberal Party to provide predictability. In the federal Budget they handed down last week, they reminded us of their complete lack of vision when it comes to the future of this country.

We needed a Budget that maintained support for those who needed it most while setting up our nation for an economic recovery.

Instead, Scott Morrison withdrew support for unemployed Australians. They rolled out nearly $100 billion in new spending. They racked up a trillion dollars of debt. But we have nothing to show for it. Nothing for aged care. Nothing for childcare. Nothing for public housing. Nothing to boost female participation in the workforce. JobSeeker and JobKeeper cut in favour of hiring subsidies that leave behind Australians aged over 35 years. Women left behind. Not a single big ticket infrastructure project to boost productivity and provide jobs.

The Liberals think that if everyone just stands back out of the way, the market will fix everything. We in Labor know that just entrenches privilege and inequality.

NSW Labor leader McKay reveals priorities in online address

Sydney: NSW Labor Leader Jodi McKay has shared her vision, values and priorities for the state in a historic address at the 2020 NSW Labor Convention.

This was Ms McKay’s first major address to party members since being elected leader in 2019.  It was also the first in Australian politics to be held online due to COVID-19 restrictions.

Ms McKay addressed the issue of corruption, after Premier Gladys Berejiklian failed in her legal obligation to report disgraced former Liberal MP Daryl McGuire’s misconduct to ICAC.

“This is about integrity in public office and the standard we set for politics in NSW,” Ms McKay said.

Ms McKay shared her own experience of reporting corruption concerns to ICAC in 2011 and how she made the decision to return to politics due to an overwhelming feeling that NSW deserved better.

She said that when Parliament returns she will demand its first priority be to pass Labor’s ban on Ministers and Parliamentary Secretaries receiving commissions from property developers.

“What we’re seeing in ICAC can never be allowed to happen again and the Government needs to pass this ban into law without delay,” Ms McKay said.

Maguire tells inquiry he didn't want to burden Berejiklian with details

Sydney: Former MP Daryl Maguire says he didn't want to burden ex-lover Premier Gladys Berejiklian by providing her with the details of any of his business dealings during another day of questioning during the ICAC inquiry.

 Calls between Mr Maguire and Ms Berejiklian revealed Mr Maguire had attempted to discuss dealings between he and Mr Joseph Alha to Ms Berejiklian who often appeared reluctant to discuss them with him, or sought to brush off the conversation.

 "It was on a need to know basis - I didn't want to burden her with detail, she didn't need to know," Mr Maguire told the inquiry.

 Mr Maguire spoke to Ms Berejiklian about introducing his "little friend" to investors, asking the Premier whether she knew his little friend.

"I don't need to know that.

 Which little friend are you talking about?" Ms Berejiklian asked.

 "With the polished head," Mr Maguire replied, referring to Mr Alha. "So I introduced him, which was good, you don't need to know what for," he said.

Health Minister Hazzard says COVID infected aren't telling the truth

Sydney: NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard has voiced concerned positive coronavirus cases aren't telling authorities the whole truth about their movements.  

His comments come after 11 new cases in total were recorded in a day. Six of those were locally transmitted, while five were cases in people already in hotel quarantine.

Mr Hazzard urged anyone with symptoms to come forward for testing, and warned people were “not necessarily telling us the truth” when speaking with contact tracers.

He was referring to a super-spreader truckie who covered up his stop in Shepparton, sparking a COVID-19 cluster in the Victorian regional city.

 “One of the ongoing problems that public health has had in NSW but also in Victoria, is that people are not necessarily telling us the whole truth and nothing but the truth,” Mr Hazzard said.

Overseas destinations Aussies won’t be travelling to...

Canberra: Australians who postponed their overseas holidays may be forced to reconsider their plans when the international borders reopen.

Scott Morrison dropped the harsh reality on Thursday during an interview on 4CA radio.

The Prime Minister was grilled about domestic tourists who Queensland operators say don’t do activities while on holiday.

 “They don’t go on a raft, they don’t go skydiving, they don’t even go up to the reef,” host John MacKenzie said.

But Mr Morrison said that could soon change because Australians won’t want to travel to countries with coronavirus.

“Once these borders open up again Australians aren’t going to be travelling to, you know, Mexico for those experiences or South America or, you know, India or places like this,” he said.

“People who are looking for those sorts of experiences will be travelling within Australia.”

Labor remembers International Infant Loss Day

Canberra: Three Labor female politicians have paid tribute to parents and families who experienced miscarriage, stillbirth, or the death of a baby shortly after birth as part of International Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day (October 15).

The three are NSW Senator Kristina Keneally, Deputy Labor leader in the Senate; Senator Malarndirri McCarthy (chairwoman of the Senate Select Committee on Stillbirth Research and Education and Tasmanian Senator Catryna Bilyk.

In 2018, 2419 lives were lost due to stillbirth or newborn death and it is estimated that one in four pregnancies result in miscarriage – that is 103,000 every year.

Today is a day to honour those babies who lose their lives each year as well as a time for their families to grieve, they said.

“This grief has been made more difficult by the COVID pandemic with families separated due to social distancing requirements and people removed from their usual support networks.”

Parramatta mayor calls for more government support

Sydney: Parramatta Lord Mayor Cr Bob Dwyer has called on the NSW Government to ramp up its support for businesses impacted by the light rail construction after announcing it would continue works over summer.

Transport for NSW revealed it will no longer halt construction on Church Street for a three-month ‘grace period’ from November 1, following consultation with businesses.

“We understand many local businesses support an earlier finish to major works and we hope this fast-tracking helps minimise impacts for them,” Cr Dwyer said.

“However, Eat Street is a vital dining and retail district in Parramatta and these businesses have been doing it tough because of COVID-19 and Parramatta Light Rail construction.

“Now is the time for the NSW Government to ramp up its support for Parramatta’s restaurants, cafes and retailers – especially since foot traffic has taken such a huge hit.