Craig Hill Media and Consulting
Bob Carr
Syria war combatants to be shut out of Australia
Australian citizens who fight in the Syrian civil war may be shut out of the country, after Immigration Minister Scott Morrison flagged a renewed push to prevent them returning home. Mr Morrison yesterday said an influx of rebel and pro-government militants from the Middle East could “disrupt the significant social cohesion we have in this … Continue reading
Australia takes lead role on Syrian crisis
As president of the UN Security Council from September 1, Australia will lead the international debate on the worsening Syrian crisis amid growing pressure on Moscow and Beijing to bring the Assad regime into line. After the deaths of an estimated 1300 Syrians in what rebels have claimed was a sarin nerve-gas attack on the … Continue reading
Iran, Pakistan, Thailand snub human trafficking conference in Jakarta; Australia well represented
Iran, the largest source of boat people landing in Australia this year, has boycotted today’s special regional conference on asylum-seekers and human trafficking. The Iranians’ failure to appear casts further doubt on the capacity of the ministerial conference to agree on coordinated “concrete measures” for curbing asylum-seeker flows across the region. Pakistan, another major source … Continue reading
Australians warned to leave Egypt
The federal government says the latest violence in Egypt is a terrible tragedy and has called for restraint from the military and protesters alike. Egypt’s health ministry says at least 278 people have been killed in nationwide violence after police cracked down on loyalists of ousted Islamist president Mohamed Morsi. Foreign Minister Bob Carr says … Continue reading
Australia presses China for human rights reform
Foreign Minister Bob Carr has urged China to press ahead with legal and political reform as the nation plays an increasingly important role in the world. In a speech to the influential Asia Society in Hong Kong, Senator Carr said Australia believed China had to improve its human rights track record, which is considered poor … Continue reading
Australian Foreign minister on trade tour of China
Australia’s Foreign Minister Senator Bob Carr today began a 10-day visit to boost bilateral ties and economic links with China. Senator Carr will have a series of high-level meetings in China, including in Hong Kong, Sichuan, Chongqing and Fujian. In Hong Kong, he will meet Chief Executive C Y Leung, Chief Secretary for Administration Carrie … Continue reading
Australia’s new asylum policy hits Iranians hardest
Asylum seekers from ethnic and religious majorities in their own countries will have great difficulty establishing a valid claim for refugee status in Australia under new Rudd government policy. This will strike hardest at Iranians, currently the single largest and most troublesome component of the asylum-seeker flow. Most Afghans and Pakistanis would still pass the … Continue reading
Six Australian students suspected of murder in Peru
Federal Attorney General Mark Dreyfus says he has met with some of the six Australian students wanted overseas in relation to the death of a hotel doorman in Peru. The three young Sydney men and two men and woman from Melbourne have launched a social media campaign to clear their names after being nominated as … Continue reading
Cyber bully China cannot be denied, including by Australia
The Gillard government should publicly reveal what it knows about the severity of Chinese cyber attacks on Australian interests and engage with its leaders on the issue, the nation’s top defence research group says. “Both the US and the UK have ‘called out’ China publicly for its relentless cyber assaults,” Tobias Feakin, senior analyst for … Continue reading
Australia pushes for hard line on Sri Lanka human rights abuses
A delegation of Labor MPs has approached Foreign Minister Bob Carr and urged him to take a tougher line on alleged human rights abuses in Sri Lanka. The delegation of between 6-12 Labor MPs petitioned Senator Carr after last Tuesday’s caucus meeting. A spokesman for Senator Carr confirmed the approach. The group urged a tougher … Continue reading
Australia won’t be drawn into ‘mythical’ US-China war says defence consultant
The view that war between the US and China is inevitable and that Australia will be drawn into such a conflict is a dangerous miscalculation, says defence white paper author Paul Dibb. The comments to be made tonight by Mr Dibb will follow those by Julia Gillard, who yesterday deplored “false modesty” in our relationship … Continue reading
Up to 200 Australians fighting with terrorist groups in Syria
Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr says the government is aware of reports that Australians fighting against the Syrian regime could be linking up with terrorist groups in the war-torn country. When asked if up to 200 Australians could be in Syria fighting against President Bashar al-Assad’s forces, Senator Carr said the relevant government agencies were … Continue reading
Australia’s Foreign Minister brands Margaret Thatcher racist
Former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher made “unabashedly racist” comments during a conversation with Bob Carr, the Foreign Affairs Minister has told Lateline. Thatcher died on Monday morning (UK time) at the age of 87 and will be accorded a ceremonial funeral at London’s St Paul’s Cathedral next week. Senator Carr says he was “astonished” … Continue reading
Australia hails “Bali Process” countries criminalisation of people smuggling
Foreign Minister Bob Carr has hailed an agreement by 37 Bali Process countries to criminalise people-smuggling and human-trafficking as a “huge advance”. The Bali Process ministerial meeting yesterday also agreed to link with the Australian-sponsored Jakarta Centre for Law Enforcement Co-operation to train regional police forces to deal with people-smugglers and traffickers as trans-national criminals. … Continue reading
Australian hostage freed by Al-Qaida group in the Philippines after 15 months
The family of Australian Warren Rodwell are “enormously relieved” after he was freed by his captors in the southern Philippines after almost 15 months. Mr Rodwell, from Sydney, was taken hostage by notorious al-Qaida-linked group Abu Sayyaf on December 5, 2011. Foreign Affairs Minister Bob Carr confirmed he was released from captivity on the island … Continue reading
Australia places Syria group on terrorist list
The Al-Nusrah Front was little known before the Syria uprising but has since become a major part of the insurgency. The Australian government has placed a prominent Sunni Islamist group fighting the regime of Bashar al-Assad in Syria on its terrorist blacklist. Foreign Minister Bob Carr has announced Australia will list the Al-Nusrah Front as … Continue reading
Australia cancels diplomatic visit by North Korea in response to nuclear test
A planned trip to Australia by North Korean diplomats to establish an embassy in Canberra has been cancelled by the Gillard government following a nuclear test by the secretive state. Foreign Minister Bob Carr said officials from Pyongyang were due to arrive in the nation’s capital this weekend to scope out property for a diplomatic … Continue reading
Australia condemns Malaysia for arrest and deportation of Senator
Australia’s Foreign Minister Bob Carr has condemned Senator Nick Xenophon‘s detention by the Malaysian government as “surprising and disappointing”. Senator Carr said Australian officials in Kuala Lumpur were seeking the immediate release of Senator Xenophon, who was detained and held pending deportation when he entered the country this morning. As well, Australian officials have raised … Continue reading
Alleged Australian spy “Prisoner X” was deserted in Israeli jail
The Melbourne man dubbed ”Prisoner X” received no consular assistance from Australian officials despite the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade having been told of his detention by Israeli authorities nearly 10 months before he killed himself in jail. And Australia’s forgiving response to Israel’s failure to formally advise that it had jailed dual-citizen Ben … Continue reading
Craig Hill Media and Consulting 