Australian news and politics live updates: AFP Commissioner won’t reveal when he briefed PM on terror plot

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AFP Commissioner Reece Kershaw has refused to be drawn on when the Prime Minister or the Attorney-General were first briefed about the suspected terror plot.

After some back and forth between Coalition MP Llew O’Brien and Labor committee chair Helen Polley, Mr Kershaw said the investigation was ongoing so he couldn’t comment.

“That relates to an ongoing joint counterterrorism team operation and according to the briefings I’ve received, that’s not the subject or purpose of today’s hearing,” he said.

“And also, I am conscious that this is a public hearing and it is not an appropriate forum to provide information relating to an ongoing investigation.”

Greens senator David Shoebridge had backed in Mr O’Brien’s search for an answering, questioning how revealing the date of a briefing could prejudice an investigation.

The Australian Federal Police make decisions about when to brief ministers on investigations on a “case-by-case basis”.

Asked what the threshold was for officers to inform the government about sensitive investigations, deputy commissioner national security Krissy Barrett said the force had “various governance and protocols that we rely on”.

Ms Barrett, who was appearing before the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Law Enforcement, said the majority of joint counter terrorism investigations were “covert”, and that decisions were based on concerns about safety.

“What I would say to that is, these matters are always on a case-by-case basis,” she told a parliamentary hearing.

“There are people at this table that have been in national security longer than me that will tell you there is no matter that is one and the same, every matter is different.

“There are always unique considerations that need to be taken into consideration, and particularly in a joint space where we have to work very closely with partners.”

The AFP’s appearance comes as Opposition Leader Peter Dutton demands an independent inquiry investigating why Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was not alerted sooner about the caravan terror plot.

Popular and ultra-cheap Chinese retailers Shein and Temu are tipped to lose customers this year as Australians become increasingly sceptical of the brands’ quality, according to new research.

Since their arrival in Australia, Shein and Temu have taken a large chunk of market share thanks to aggressive advertising campaigns as cost-of-living pressures push shoppers towards bargain options.

But fresh research from e-commerce and marketplace group Pattern Australian revealed only 12 per cent of consumers trust Temu for its product quality, leading to a forecast 7 per cent drop in shoppers.

Shein faces similar challenges, with trust levels at just 11 per cent.

Read the full story ​here​.

The United States must make the first move in improving ties with Russia after years of failing to listen to the Kremlin and misguided policies intended to inflict a “strategic defeat” on Moscow, a senior Russian diplomat says.

Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov also said it was wrong to base a foreign policy on the need to “come to an agreement with the White House at any price.”

Relations between Russia and the United States have plunged to lows not seen in decades over Moscow’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. But since the election and inauguration of Donald Trump, Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin has made a point of describing the US president as smart and pragmatic and said he would like to meet him soon.

In a commentary on the Foreign Ministry website, Ryabkov said the Kremlin had long sought to be a partner with the West, “but no one was listening or, in theory, wanted to listen.

“And that is because the underlying aim was to weaken the geopolitical rival to the maximum,” he said.

Russia, he said, had regained “its lawful place in world geopolitics by frustrating the plans of Joe Biden’s administration ... to inflict a ‘strategic defeat’ on Moscow in a hybrid war ‘to the last Ukrainian.’”

“Against the background of this failed policy and with the change of administration, it is the United States that must take the first step in normalising relations on the basis of mutual respect and equal rights,” Ryabkov wrote.

-- Reuters

Read the full story here.

It was inevitable that reporters would turn to the decision by the Labor party in Canberra to spear through new laws around mandatory sentencing for hate crimes.

“We made sure we have strong legislation. We’re the first government to introduce legislation about Nazis, and other hate symbols,” Mr Albanese said.

“We did that last year. We’re strengthening the legislation today. We want people who are engaged in anti-Semitic activities to be caught, to be charged and put in the clink.

“That’s my priority.”

David Crisafulli has sent crews and his ministers out into the field to try and repair elctricity supplies to the hardest hit areas in the Quensland floods

“I’ve asked the Energy Minister to get on the ground and he’s walked the train line as well and we’ve got best loads of resources going in there.”

“There is a slim chance we can get power back to Ingham today, a slim chance.

“If that was to happen, that would be a reconnection in half the time that I have ever seen it before.

“To have a substation go offline and to be talking about bringing it on within a week is something I’ve never seen before. But that something is only achievable because of the predeployment of staff and the effort of those Ergon crews.”

“The Herbert (river) remains at levels the likes of which I never thought I’d see,” Mr Crisafulli said.

“It remains stubbornly high and with that comes a real challenge in the clean-up and also some real risk of damage to property, business and agriculture and it shows the kind of challenges that the north have in the weeks, months and years ahead.

Trump’s call for a radical new approach to Gaza was all about getting a deal done, not about building a new Trump Tower on the Gold Coast of the Middle East.

It was a classic Texas hold’em move to up the ante.

His point that Gaza is a demolition site unfit for human habitation after the devastation brought to it by Hamas is indisputable.

But the rush of the left wing media to call the President’s plan to raze what’s left of Gaza and resettle its Palestinian inhabitants elsewhere “ethnic cleansing” and “imperialism” was all too predictable and was exactly the attention Trump wanted to bring to the issue.

Read the full story here.

Queensland’s Premier has spoken passionately about his state’s heartbreak during rhe current flood event and the pain still to come.

“To have three levels of government of different political persuasions all pulling in one direction shows everything you need to know about what communities deserve in their hours of need and I can tell you this is in its hour of need,” David Crisafulli said.

“A new wave of monsoonal rains is coming in the next few days, the bureau has reported.

“We must remain alert, particularly in the area between Ingham and Bowen.

“Those conditions exist and you only had to see some of the showers this morning to understand the real threat that remains.”