cyberwarfare
(Image: Getty)

NOT-SO-FINE CHINA

There has been a Chinese state-backed cyber attack on the Australian government, as well as media companies, defence and health, in an effort to get information about our operations in the South China Sea, The Australian ($) reports. Attackers set up a fake media outlet site, “Australian Morning News”, and copied real stories to make it look legit. Then they sent a slew of phishing emails to “people working for federal and local government agencies, defence academic institutions, defence and health agencies, and Australian companies involved in energy generation in the South China Sea”, the paper says, encouraging them to visit the fake site. Why? There was a seemingly innocuous hyperlink littered throughout the site that gave the cyber-attackers access to data, The Age continues. So who are these attackers? It’s reportedly called Red Ladon — one cyber-security expert called it “a government espionage group located in China, sponsored by the Chinese government”.

Despite a change of government, things remain openly frosty between Australia and China. Overnight the South China Morning Post published a story headlined “Surveys show gullibility of Australians over China” which scoffed at an Australia Institute survey that found Australians were more afraid of China than the Taiwanese. The Post story included a line referring to Australians as “far more gullible and uninformed” than Taiwanese and referred to concerns China would invade the sovereign nation as “Western war propaganda”. Hmm. The ABC published a cracking analysis earlier this week about a rumble taking place under the radar at the moment too — namely “what China is doing in terms of mapping Australia’s underwater assets, such as cables for communications and gas”. It’s gripping stuff if you’re interested.

[free_worm]

LIBERALLY SPEAKING

Sound the (alleged) branch-stacking klaxon, folks: the NSW Liberal Party reportedly signed up and issued fake email addresses to 100 party members in a process that may have influenced state and federal preselection, the SMH reports. Basically, branch stacking is getting a bunch of either fake or non-interested people to join a political party branch so their vote can be used to win ballots. The paper says it saw confidential documents that show the email addresses and phone numbers issued, in what the paper called an effort to dodge “controls aimed as stopping branch stacking”. Reporters talked to two people involved — one said she had never signed up even though she was on the database, and another said he was told someone would reimburse his membership fee. The paper says an online email anonymising company, Poinbox.net, was used — it generates alias emails in the place of the recipient’s true email address.

It comes as NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet admitted he wouldn’t be meeting with Victorian Liberal Leader Matthew Guy during his trip to Victoria, despite the Libs strongly campaigning ahead of the state election, Guardian Australia reports. Perrottet chuckled when asked the question, saying it wasn’t like he was participating in a Labor fundraiser — he and Andrews were at a Melbourne cancer research centre. Guy was like, whatever, I don’t even care — he described himself as “pleased” that a Liberal premier was telling Andrews “how to fix the health system”, news.com.au reports, which was not quite what was happening. (Both states are establishing 25 urgent care services in partnership with GPs.) Anyway, it is somewhat of an unlikely friendship — Perrottet and Andrews are from opposite sides of the political spectrum (socialist left v Liberal right) but have had a pretty good rapport since Perrottet took the helm from Gladys Berejiklian.

HOME AND AWAY

Our 151 MPs and 76 senators own 237 houses or apartments, and have interests in another 210 other homes or properties (like if they’re owned by partners), Guardian Australia reports. So who has the biggest portfolio? Opposition home affairs spokeswoman Karen Andrews, who owns a Queensland home and six investment properties. Then Leader of the House Tony Burke owns a NSW home and an ACT home, plus four investment properties. Labor MP Louise Miller-Frost owns a South Australian home and four investment properties. Liberal Nationals MP Andrew Willcox owns a Queensland home and five investment properties. Guardian Australia also delved into “the range of diverse pecuniary interests, including rare metals, racehorses and cryptocurrency” owned by politicians.

Hey, speaking of housing, our energy-efficiency standards for new homes are being upgraded for the first time in a decade, The Conversation reports. It means new homes will have to rate a minimum of seven stars under the Nationwide House Energy Rating Scheme by May 2023. The Climate Council says it’ll create safer, more efficient and affordable homes for Australians and lower emissions. It comes as the NSW government announced large commercial developments and big state projects will have to deliver a “net-zero statement” to gain planning approval — both a good step forward to future-proof our homes in the face of climate change. Buildings account for about 20% of the nation’s emissions, The Convo adds.

ON A LIGHTER NOTE

When Philadelphia man Joseph Henney heads out into the big bad world, he brings his loyal emotional support animal Wally. They go to the supermarket, or football games, or just chill out on the couch, as The Washington Post tells it. The pair even sleep in the same bed, which wouldn’t be so completely bone-chilling if Wally wasn’t an alligator. It all began when a friend called Henney about some abandoned baby ‘gators a few years back. He agreed to take the tiny trio in — he had been caring for reptiles as a hobby for decades. He prepped his enclosure for their arrival but took an instant liking to Wally. Wally just seemed different — he didn’t show any aggression and preferred popcorn over chicken legs. One day Henney tentatively let Wally out of the enclosure, and the 50 centimetre ‘gator started following him around the house like a love-sick puppy.

When Henney was plunged into despair by some personal loss, it seemed like Wally was trying to cheer him up. “When I was on the couch, he’d pull my blanket to the floor,” Henney recalls. Heh. The 69-year-old was telling his doctor about how Wally had helped lift him out of a tough time when the doc suggested he register Wally as a support animal. He scoffed at first, but then figured, why not? It’s no weirder than a peacock, as Americans are wont to do. These days Wally goes to schools, camps and old folks’ homes with Henney to spread education about reptiles, and the leathery boy has never bitten a soul. Wally even met York mayor Michael Helfrich in April, posing for a photo nestled on his lap. Henney reckons Wally’s a real cuddler and a great bedfellow, even though he’s cold-blooded. “During a hot summer, he’s nice and cool to sleep with,” he says.

Wishing you the courage of mayor Helfrich placing a ‘gator within centimetres of his crotch.

SAY WHAT?

I’m not sitting here at a Labor Party fundraiser. I’m sitting here with a premier who wants to get things done and look after his people. We’ve built up that relationship; we’ve been working very closely together and that’s important.

Dominic Perrottet

But what’s that saying about any publicity being good publicity? The NSW premier made the comments while announcing a dual-state healthcare scheme after admitting he had no plans to meet with Victorian Liberal Leader Matthew Guy.

CRIKEY RECAP

‘Monumental blunder’: opposition small business spokesperson claims electric utes don’t exist

Aug 30, 2022

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“Federal Liberal deputy leader Sussan Ley has been named and shamed by a fellow MP for incorrectly saying there are no electric utes on the market, something the Electric Vehicle Council’s CEO slammed as a ‘monumental blunder’ on Ley’s part. Ley, who is also opposition spokesperson for small business as well as industry, skills and trade, was speaking to Sky News’ Chris Kenny about this week’s highly anticipated jobs and skills summit when she made the erroneous claim.

“Independent Sophie Scamps, who is the member for Mackellar, tweeted Ley’s incorrect claim and went on to detail several electric utes on the market, including a slew of models on the way to Australia shores. ‘This is the electric version of the Ford Lightning Ute — best seller in the US — already making deliveries in the US,’ Scamps wrote.”

Fox News ‘fair and balanced’? Read these quotes about Trump’s loss and you decide

Aug 30, 2022

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“We are at the beginning of the second presidential campaign of 2020. Just as Andrew Jackson responded to the corrupt bargain of 1824 by tearing apart the establishment and winning the presidency in 1828, just as Abraham Lincoln rejected the threats of the slave-owning Democrats and insisted on preserving the union in 1860, I think the millions and millions of Americans who went out to rallies, who formed boat parades — and Arizona formed a 96-mile-long parade of Trump supporters — I think as they watch Joe Biden’s Democratic Party steal the election in Philadelphia, steal the election in Atlanta, steal the election in Milwaukee, I think the more information that comes out, the greater the rage is going to be.

“President Trump is going to be forced by his own supporters and by the objective reality of the truth, the facts that are beginning to come out, he will be forced into a situation exactly like Andrew Jackson and Abraham Lincoln. He either has to fight and protect America, or he has to surrender to corrupt sources, starting with the Biden family corruption spreading out to the corruption of the Democratic machines, going on to the corruption of places like The New York Times.”

Labor won’t reverse the stage three tax cuts. Get real. It’s in for the long haul

Aug 30, 2022

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“Politically, in pursuit of a Labor majority, it was absolutely right to do so. Had it not done so, its opposition to the cuts may well have been the means by which it was held below a full majority. Having lost in 2019 partly due to the franking credits stuff up, it was leaving nothing to chance. The decision, and its ramifications, indicates where we are all at, what Labor is now, and what’s possible. Spoiler alert: not much.

“Yep, the stage three cuts are a boondoggle, no doubt about it. Creating one huge tax bracket from $45k to $200k, and lowering base rate from 32.5% to 30%, is an absurdly inelastic manoeuvre — a first instalment on flat taxation. But its purpose, when first proposed, was political rather than economic.”

READ ALL ABOUT IT

‘Null and void’: judge strikes down Saint Kitts anti-gay law (Al Jazeera)

Serena Williams rises to the occasion, like so many times before (The New York Times)

Jackson residents don’t have enough water to flush toilets (CNN)

Shocking photos show one-third of Pakistan submerged by deadly floods (Euro News)

How two Mexican drug cartels came to dominate America’s fentanyl supply (The Wall Street Journal) ($)

Taiwan fires warning shots at Chinese drone (The Guardian)

Robert LuPone, The Sopranos star and theatre veteran, dies age 76 (CNN)

Thailand has legalised cannabis, but its war on drugs continues (SBS)

THE COMMENTARIAT

Critical minerals offer us a new kind of mining boom — Cathy Foley (The Australian) ($): “Global demand for critical minerals sets the scene for a new kind of mining boom in Australia, but the scale of the challenges should not be underestimated — and jobs and skills are high on the list. The new mining opportunity is centred on the minerals and materials used for clean energy, semiconductors and other forms of hi-tech manufacturing. Australia has an abundance of deposits of many of these minerals, including high-grade nickel for electric vehicles; graphite, lithium and other minerals for batteries; and high-grade silicon for solar cells.

“This is an opportunity to create new jobs and skills in regional Australia, and revitalise communities. However, we must ensure that it’s not simply dig and ship, that the environmental impact is prioritised and that we train the right workforce. No one wants Australia to become the world’s quarry for high-value minerals. It has been calculated, for example, that we receive less than 1% of the value of the minerals that go into lithium ion batteries. When you consider that we export about $7 billion worth of those minerals (nickel, cobalt, lithium and manganese) for other countries to add value, you get a sense of the scale of the lost opportunity. A much better option is midstream processing — making high-purity alloys and metals to support the low-emissions future.”

Ankle tags and 24/7 surveillance – this is how the UK treats new migrants — Janet Farrell (The Guardian): “Imagine arriving in the UK to seek asylum today. You are confused, terrified and traumatised by the events that led you to leave your home country. Your journey here likely involved breathtaking risks and unimaginable abuse. You probably found out the hard way that for you there is no such thing as what the government calls a ‘safe route’ for refugees to the UK. You are locked up on arrival and told you may be relocated to Rwanda. You are released here, but shackled with a bulky ankle tag, and told you are now subject to GPS surveillance by the state, 24 hours a day, while on bail.

“This is the welcome we provide to refugees in the UK in 2022. As it stands, lawyers have issued proceedings on behalf of clients facing removal to Rwanda, delaying the first planned flight. Those cases will be heard in the autumn. But in the meantime, an immigration or asylum applicant can be detained without time limit. And those granted their liberty are subject to immigration bail, which can require them to submit to invasive electronic monitoring. GPS surveillance was first used as a means of monitoring those on immigration bail in 2021, first via ankle tags but with plans to introduce devices such as smartwatches from this autumn. This monitoring makes it possible to obtain a complete history of where a person has been and when, minute by minute, 24 hours a day. The data collected can construct a nuanced picture of a person’s habits, religious and political beliefs, relationships and health issues, as well as the private lives …”

HOLD THE FRONT PAGE

The Latest Headlines

WHAT’S ON TODAY

Yuggera Country (also known as Brisbane)

  • Author Charlotte Nash will chat about her latest novel, Twenty-Six Letters, at Avid Reader bookshop. You can also catch this one online.

  • Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development Catherine King, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s Gina Cass-Gottlieb, and the International Association of Ports and Harbours’ Patrick Verhoeven are among the speakers at Ports Australia Biennial Conference at W Hotel in Brisbane.

Eora Nation Country (also known as Sydney)

  • Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will convene a meeting of state and territory leaders for national cabinet.

Whadjuk Noongar Country (also known as Perth)

  • Curtin MP Kate Chaney will join a panel at The University Club of Western Australia to discuss the future of Australia’s democracy.

Ngunnawal Country (also known as Canberra)

  • University of Sydney’s Mark Scott will give an address to the National Press Club..

  • Journalist Nick McKenzie will launch a new book from The Lowy Institute’s Lydia Khalil called Rise of the Extreme Right.