AI – the rush to a Royal Commission in SA

Written by: Nick G. on 12 August 2026

 

(Malin-AUKUS with Vice-Admiral Gaucher (@PMalinauskasMP X account)

)

SA Premier Malinauskas has just announced a Royal Commission into artificial Intelligence (AI). The announcement followed his return from a trip to the US where he met with US politicians, Department of War personnel and AI industry leaders.

The visit to the US was as much about the AUKUS arrangements as it was about AI, but there will be no SA Royal Commission into AUKUS, just as there has been no federal parliamentary enquiry.

The Royal Commission will be headed by a three-person panel and report back by July 1, 2027. “It’s all about ensuring South Australians maximise the benefits and minimise the unwanted risks,” said the Premier.

He said a rising backlash against data centres in the US required clear AI policy settings in South Australia. In the US there have been big demonstrations against the 4,000 plus data centres especially in Nashville Tennessee. People are worried about water and electricity prices going through the roof due to amount used by data centres, plus pollution of the air and noise levels.

Malinauskas in the US

The SA Premier met with US Department of War personnel Admiral Bill Houston, Director of the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program; Vice Admiral Rob Gaucher, the United States’ Director of Submarine Programs, at the Washington Navy Yard; and US Naval Academy, Maryland, Superintendent Lieutenant General Michael Borgschulte. These meetings focussed on what the SA government must do to facilitate the delivery of AUKUS.

He also met AI industry leaders including leaders of STACK Infrastructure, based in Virginia and owner of 7 Australian data centres; Apple CEO Tim Cook; OpenAI Co-Founder and President Greg Brockman, with whom he signed a Memorandum of Understanding on its operations in SA; and Anthropic co-founder Tom Brown. 

He met various politicians, including US State Department AUKUS Liaison Adam Korzeniewski; Michael DeSombre, Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs at the US Department of State; and several Congressional representatives.

Finance capital was also present in a team from private equity and asset management giant Carlyle Group, as well as Chief Executive Zach Shore of the Hermeus Group, contracted by the US Air Force to build an updated version of the Concorde, a hypersonic aircraft capable of flying faster than the speed of sound. 

Data Centres in SA

There are already a number of small and medium-sized data centres in SA including one at Woomera Ave, Edinburgh, close to the RAAF Base and its co-located No. 1 Space Surveillance Unit. 

The DigiCo Edinburgh data base was bought out by Queensland data centre operator iseek in 2022 to increase “our exposure within the defence and education sectors”. However, iseek itself was bought out by Australian company HM Capital. “Australian” may be a misleading term as nearly every one of the 20 top shareholders in HMC is a bank or finance nominee company, and nominee companies are often holding mainly US and other overseas investors’ capital.

A moratorium on data centres?

A number of people on Malinauskas’s Facebook page have quite rightly asked whether there should be a moratorium on new data centres while the Royal Commission enquires into AI. This will not happen.

One of the most controversial projects already underway was announced by Malinauskas before his US trip.   On June 23, plans for multiple AI data centres in regional South Australia were announced. Malinauskas pledged to lead the nation in AI infrastructure and development through a ‘Data Centre Strategy’, and estimated $850 billion would be invested in the sector over the next few years.

The Strategy followed an announcement that IREN Limited, an Australian company headquartered in Sydney, would build an 800MW AI data centre in the state’s Mid North at Bundey, a failed town on Ngadjuri land that could not survive its location on Goyder’s Line which divides SA according to rainfall. The centre would be one of the largest in Australia.

Iren owns data centres in Canada and the US, powered by renewable energy, for both cryptocurrency mining and AI cloud services. Cryptocurrencies are the vortex into which speculative capital is sucked. Iren offers bitcoin customers proof-of-service, deterring manipulation of data by establishing large energy and hardware-control requirements.

Servicing the data requirements of speculative capitalists may be profitable, but it comes at a cost to energy consumption and water needed to cool the facility.

Two other centres are proposed for Stirling North (near Pt Augusta), and Tailem Bend on the Murray River. Both are to be AI factories, a specific type of data centre. The latter are designed for computing tasks, including data storage, web hosting, and enterprise applications, whereas the former are designed specifically for developing models in AI and Machine Learning. 

These two AI factories are to be built by Firmus which is already building one AI factory in Tasmania, and has two more planned. The company ran into trouble in July when it inadvertently placed on its website an internal memo stating that it intended to use state-owned agricultural irrigation water for cooling its facility despite no such arrangement having been entered into.

AI factories feed into AI through systems like ChatGPT which breaks language, eg individual words, into components called “tokens” which are then used to “pay” AI providers for their services. Firmus is in the business of generating such tokens. It is a private company seeking to profit from the social need to adopt AI to an increasing range of tasks.

State and feds

The federal government announced in late July that it would introduce a set of Australian Standards for AI governing the operation of data centres. Why Malinauskas has rushed to a Royal Commission in SA when the feds are developing their own policies and procedures is unknown. Someone once said though that government never set up Royal Commissions unless they know the outcome in advance. So perhaps Malinauskas is hoping that the Royal Commission will defuse opposition to the invitation he has given to OpenAI to come and operate in SA. A watertight endorsement of the “financial benefits” and “jobs bonanza” associated with AI would suit him very well. 

It is certainly unlikely to pursue the option of AI for the benefit of others than the corporations and their governments. 

It is equally very doubtful that it would look at how the people could own and use AI for socially beneficial purposes if it was taken out of the hands of private profiteers.

Trump diplomatic forum on “terrorism” a threat to democratic rights

Written by: (Contributed) on 10 August 2026

 

On 16 July the Trump administration hosted a diplomatic forum attended by 66 countries, including Australia. (1) To what extent the official Australian diplomatic presence was linked directly to the US military footprint in Australia, was not specified in forum publications. (2) The so-called 'alliance', nevertheless, remains a major factor.

The so-called Pillars One and Two of the AUKUS agreement, moreover, have included extensive US involvement into Australia, particularly with US software corporations which use advanced cyber systems and AI through Australian-based military facilities. (3) The surveillance of Australian residents and citizens, by the US intelligence services, likewise, is regarded as being both commonplace and widespread. (4) It is not difficult to detect.

Some of those attending the forum, interestingly, also did not necessarily represent specific countries and retained their anonymity; reference was made, for example, to 'Mr Kurd is here from Kurdistan'. (5) Who was he or she, who did they really represent? The boundaries of Kurdistan, for example, enclose areas rich in mineral deposits and rare earths.

The main item of forum business was also questionable: an official diplomatic statement about the Ministerial forum included references directed toward 'far-left political terrorism'; intelligence-gathering was dealt with along lines of 'addressing it before it metastasises', revealing surveillance of persons of interest. (6)

The Trump administration, following their far-right political course, have become obsessed with what has been labelled 'cultural-marxism'; a loosely knit collection of political opposition figures and ideas referred to by the White House as 'woke'. There is little doubt the Trump administration has already targeted political opposition figures and movements and subsequently labelled them as 'terrorist' along lines of political expediency.

The fact the one-day forum coincided with an official high-level diplomatic visit to the US by Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, has also raised questions about the shadowy Jonathan Institute named after Benjamin Netanyahu’s older brother, a member of the Israeli Special Forces killed in 1976 during the famous raid at Entebbe, and used by the US and Israel for surveillance purposes on opposition figures and Palestinian activists. It has been noted, for example, the institute was founded by Netanyahu in 1979 specifically to pursue a perceived joint war against terrorism with the US; it retains strong links with the intelligence services and is his personal power-base of support. (7)

Other official media releases, interestingly, also drew attention to three specific areas of interest by the forum: Islamic considerations, narcotics-related matters, left-wing political extremism with specific reference to anarchism and anti-fascism, without any reference to the far right. (8) 

It is as if nothing has changed since the previous Cold War, over half a century ago.

Some of the declassified documents from the previous Cold War make interesting reading; studies of the US Army Foreign Intelligence Assistance Program, for example, reveal a common pattern of targeting the left-wing and democratic procedures, as they were regarded as obstacles confronting 'US interests'. One collection of declassified documents from the period revealed the US intelligence services targeted 'worldwide … those who oppose the US Defence Department'. (9) The target would appear very large indeed.

Whole subject populations were profiled during the period and placed on lists.

The use of the internet in recent times has merely heightened the ability of the US to stray further into the private lives of civilian populations in the name of intelligence-gathering.

Revelations that the US National Security Agency (NSA) researched 'ways to exploit the global reach of Google, Microsoft, Venizon and other US technological powers', would leave little to the imagination about the real nature of espionage. (10) The back-door into
the internet was left unlocked for those silently seeking access.   

It is now possible for governments to use AI programs for profiling. The uses and abuses of data-centres, therefore, is a very real threat, particularly those with military applications and facilities. (11) Numerous alerts are provided by governments to publicise foreign powers and adversaries using the same intelligence-gathering techniques. The wholesale erosion of civil liberties in countries such as Australia, however, has become a major consideration; civil liberties include safeguards to protect personal information. Questions therefore arise about the motives of those responsible for enabling the intelligence-gathering practices.

Whether foreign powers and adversaries have become convenient 'false flags' to enable the US and allies to mine vast troves of data remains a point in question; 'computer hacking' has increased alongside the establishment and expansion of data centres. (12) Coincidental?

The recent computer hacking of Origin, for example, was not taken seriously by the corporate entity for almost three weeks. The fact that the hackers successfully removed nearly a million customer records including the last four digits of credit card details, the last three digits of bank accounts, names, dates of birth, billing histories and phone numbers, has raised serious issues regarding cyber security. (13) In fact, an official explanation from Origin stated that they 'initially believed the threat was not credible'. (14) A far more plausible explanation for the response by Origin could, however, be the sophisticated nature of the hacking using official techniques of access and entry inside the system.

Studies of the energy use of customers can be used as part of a basis for profiling: during the height of the previous Cold War in Central America, for example, Guatemala fell under scrutiny being regarded by the US as a strategic asset for their domination of the region. The ruling military elite of the tiny country used an Israeli-installed computer system to monitor electricity and telephone usage together with individual movements through police and military checkpoints with access and egress into areas of interest. (15)

A computer matrix had been devised to establish and track contacts between individuals and groups of interest to the military elite, including that of 'safe-houses', clandestine political organisation and communication conduits. (16) The matrix was a tool of repression.

The profiling was subsequently used by the military elite, working alongside Police Intelligence G2, to identify what was regarded as abnormal electricity and telephone usage as a link toward unwanted left-wing opposition political activism. (17)

Other, similar, computer hackings, including Australia's Medibank Private, also carried an almost dismissive approach by those in officialdom; they were noticeably nonchalant. And, perhaps, for good reason. They had no wish to reveal uncomfortable answers?

Intelligence gathered from the Medibank Private hacking, for example, could also be used for profiling, including the assessment of levels of resilience to social change. The private health-care body, moreover, had an extensive client base in the Australian middle-classes and higher socio-economic groups. Demographic changes taking place in Australia have already left their mark upon the traditional centres of social, political and economic power. The decline of the centre-right Australian Liberal Party as a centre of power and patronage, for example, has not been difficult to observe. And with the changes, questions may have arisen about the longer-term political stability of the country as a vital regional hub for 'US interests'. (18) 

With the balance of forces now swinging against both the US and Israel, the recent forum in Washington can, perhaps, be viewed as an indication the US takes the problem very seriously. They represent the most aggressive side of the military-industrial complex, Wall Street, and the forces of capital over that of labour as the main factors of production, and, therefore, they want to identify and demonise any opposition.

In conclusion, we live in troubled times with the ascendency of the far-right, openly supported by the Trump administration. It would appear they are busy assessing what they regard as obstacles to their nefarious agendas, which operate under the guise of 'US interests':
                                            We need an independent foreign policy

1.     Data Centres, www.Renegadeactivists.org (July 2026); and, US hosts conference, Time Magazine, 17 July 2026.
2.     See: The Heavy US Military Footprint on Australia, IPAN publication, 2026.
3.     Ibid., pp. 6-7.
4.     See: The CIA's Australian Connection, Denis Freney, (NSW, 1977).
5.     Results, US Department of State (Washington), 20 July 2026.
6.     Ibid.; and, 'Mortal Threat', CNN., 17 July 2026.
7.     See: Covert Action, Edited by Ellen Ray and Wm. H. Schaap, (Victoria, 2003), page 51 and page 164.
8.     US hosts global meet on 'left-wing terror',  AL JAZEERA., 16 July 2026.
9.     US Army Regulation: 381-20, Section 1.5, Mission and Policy, Page 1,     (Declassified: 15 November 1993)  
10.   See: The intelligence coup of the century, The Washington Post, 11 February 2020.
11.   Data Centres, both their physical and software components fall under the Defence         and Security List Part 2, Categories 4 and 5, Data Centres publication, op.cit., July 2026.  
12.   See: Tech titians as potent as nations: MI6 chief, Australian, 17 December 2025.
13.   Origin dismissed hack as 'not credible', Australian, 29 July 2026.
14.   Origin dismissed hack as 'not a credible' threat, Australian, 29 July 2026.
15.   See: The Garrison State, Steve Goldfield, Palestine Focus Publications, San Francisco, CA., 1985.
16.   Ibid.
17.   Ibid.
18.   See: Pine Gap is a place of counterinsurgency, IPAN Publication, July 2025.

 

Oppose the extraterratoriality of NATO personnel in Australia.

Written by: Nick G. on 31 July 2026

 

A proposed new Agreement governing the deployment of NATO personnel to Australia to facilitate the procurement of NATO goods and services is setting a dangerous new precedent for the surrender of Australian sovereignty.

Specifically, it proposes extending near-extraterritorial status to all civilian and military NATO personnel operating in Australia. Extraterritoriality was notoriously imposed on Qing Dynasty China by Western powers whose citizens in China could not be tried for crimes in Chinese courts, and large sections of Shanghai were denied to Chinese police and military.

 

Australia has several agreements governing the status of visiting foreign military personnel. They are the Defence (Visiting Forces) Act (1963), the Australia–United States Status of Forces arrangements (1963), and the Australia–United States Force Posture Agreement (2014) governing the rotational deployment of US Marines, Air Force personnel and other forces in Australia.

 

None of these provide complete exemption from Australian law, although they do provide for jurisdictional allocation where Australia can agree to provide waivers from prosecution under Australian law, and allow the prosecution of those charged by the military authorities of the foreign state concerned. This is particularly the case where conduct constitutes an offence under both Australian law and the sending country's military law, and both countries may potentially have jurisdiction.

 

US-Australia Force Posture Agreement

 

The most significant waiving of Australian immunity to date applies to US military personnel under the Force Posture Agreement which confirms that US personnel remain subject to US military law while also recognising Australian criminal jurisdiction in appropriate cases. 

 

The FPA does not relinquish legal Australian sovereignty to the US for its bases in Australia, but does so in practice. Within Australian bases, certain areas may be designated for the exclusive use or control of US forces for agreed purposes. Operational control of designated areas may rest with the US during agreed activities. This concept did not exist in the same developed form under the Visiting Forces Act. 

 

Article VII of the PFA states:

 

“United States Forces and its contractors shall have unimpeded access to Agreed Facilities and Areas for all matters relating to the pre-positioning and storage of defence equipment and supplies including delivery, management, inspection, use, maintenance and removal of such pre-positioned material. As mutually determined by the Parties, aircraft, vehicles and vessels operated by or for United States Forces shall have access to aerial ports and sea ports of Australia and other locations, for the delivery to, storage and maintenance in, and removal from, the territory of Australia of United States Forces’ pre-positioned material.” 

 

In short, the Agreement enables the United States not only to station its troops in Darwin but to store on Australian soil, US war supplies including spare parts, fuel, weapons, ammunition and bombs and opens Australia’s seaports to their navy and airports and runways for the use of their air-force.

 

The NATO Agreement

 

The full title of the proposed new Treaty is the Agreement between the Government of Australia and the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) Support and Procurement Organisation (NSPO) on Acquisition and Support Cooperation.

 

It has so far largely slipped under the radar. It was opened for public inquiry by the Joint Standing Committee on Treaties, but as of the closing of the time for submissions, there had only been two, one strongly for the Treaty, and one strongly against. By contrast, the non-Parliamentary Public Inquiry into AUKUS, which is still ongoing, has received nearly 500 public submissions to date, almost every one of which is opposed to the AUKUS arrangements.

 

Under Article 5.3 of the NATO Treaty, the NATO Support and Procurement Organisation (NSPO) “shall have legal personality within Australia…”

 

Under Article 6.3, “NSPO shall enjoy immunity from any jurisdiction including criminal, civil and administrative, in Australia.” Under Article 6.5, those immunities include:

 

a. Immunity from personal arrest or detention, and inviolability of papers and documents;

b. Immunity from suit and from other legal process in respect of words spoken or written and all acts performed by them in the exercise of their official functions within NATO;

c. Exemption from the application of laws relating to immigration and the regulation of aliens;

d. Exemption from currency or exchange restrictions.

 

Article 6.12 says that “The premises and archives of NSPO shall be inviolable. Their property and assets shall be immune from search, requisition, confiscation, expropriation or any other form of interference.”

 

Article 7 on Liability, states “Under no circumstances will this Agreement give rise to any Liability for NSPO. All risks inherent in the performance of support or services provided by NSPO shall be borne by Australia.” Article 7.3 states that in the event of any suit or claim against the NSPO, Australia shall pay for legal counsel chosen by NSPO…”

 

This means that no Australian worker or military employee injured, exploited, abused or defamed in the course of employment to implement this Agreement will have any come back against NATO, and in fact will be blocked in the courts by lawyers paid for out of their own taxes.

 

No previous Treaty or Agreement extends such sweeping immunity from Australian law to the military or civilian personnel of another country. No previous Treaty or Agreement grants extraterritoriality to the citizens of another country in Australia.

 

This is a dangerous precedent to set, particularly now that US forces here are not on temporary visits, but have permanent presence in military, air force and naval facilities.

 

The politicians who are complicit in such arrangements claim to be great patriots, but are in fact part of a traitor class of pro-Empire activists, bureaucrats and military leaders who are surrendering Australian sovereignty to the imperialists.

 

The only answer is a genuinely anti-imperialist Australian independence and socialism. 

Zionist war machine never so isolated

Written by: (Contributed) on 28 July 2026

 

(Many Orthodox Jews support Palestine and denounce Zionism. Torah Jews on X)

Revelations that the Netanyahu government has allocated hundreds of millions of dollars together with a US$45 million lobbying contract to 'improve its image around the world', has carried the hallmarks of an administration failing to maintain adequate diplomatic initiatives with counterparts elsewhere. (1) The Israeli State already has an elaborate propaganda machine; the strength of the world-wide Palestinian lobby, however, has left the Israeli government in a vulnerable position in recent times, following genocidal policies on Gaza and the expansion of illegal settlements on the West Bank.

Israel is losing the information war.

It is also a sensitive time for the Netanyahu administration, facing a general election at the end of October. Its electoral support has dropped and polls have shown it will be likely to only win about 20 seats in the Knesset, whereas to establish a government it requires at least 61. Internal, back-room political manoeuvring, therefore, would appear the order of the day with the government and opposition both attempting to establish coalitions of smaller, and fragmented political parties. (2) Netanyahu, moreover, faces serious war crimes charges; fears of losing office and an incoming government putting him on a plane for South Africa to face the charges remain a consideration not easily dismissed.

It has been generally accepted that support for the Palestinian lobby has already made clear inroads into the US Democrats and that Republican support for the Zionist State has been eroded with 'a younger generation of influential conservatives is pushing for change … saying Israel's interests don't always align with those of the US'. (3)
A reliable poll conducted in the US in February found more of the sample now sympathised with the Palestinians and had caused a 'shift fuelling concerns among some Israeli voters about long-term support from one of Israel's most vital allies'; their options are limited. (4)

The developments have also included over a hundred US house Democrats voting to suspend US$3 billion in military aid for Israel. (5) While the vote was unsuccessful, it revealed a shift in the balance of forces. Israel remains dependent upon US military aid.

Elsewhere, the Zionist lobby has also floundered; many Israeli diplomatic personnel have been asked to leave by host countries, who want no more of the Israeli war machine. It has been noted that many traditional Western allies of Israel are now at odds with Tel Aviv about the Netanyahu administration's creation of 'buffer zones' in neighbouring countries. (6)

Israel has, historically, relied upon the Sayanium, who have acted along similar lines to 'illegals'; the volunteers form part of networks of loyal supporters of the Israeli State elsewhere. (7) By the late 1990s, for example, it was estimated that there were over 4,000 Sayanium operational in the UK, with four times that number in the US. (8)

Studies of the Sayanium established that the shadowy intelligence networks were well provided for; it was noted, for example, that, 'MOSSAD … spent several hundred million dollars a month maintaining its assets … the Sayanium'. (9)  

It is now, however, more difficult for the Sayanium to operate with impunity; numerous questions have arisen about Israeli involvement inside other political systems.

The fact that part of the recent Israeli budget allocation has been based upon a lobbying contract awarded to a former Trump campaign manager was met with official diplomatic silence from the Israeli Embassy in Washington; it would tend to indicate the sensitive nature of the operation, in line with usual intelligence provision. (10) While Trump has been a long-time supporter of Israel, problems have now arisen. He has, increasingly, relied upon vice-president Vance when dealing with Israel. He has distanced himself from controversy.

The recent escalation of diplomatic tensions between the US and Israel, furthermore, followed attempts by the Trump administration to resolve its war-footing with Iran; allegations were made in Washington, by Vance, that a pro-Israeli journalist employed by Time magazine was behind 'a literal foreign influence campaign' by Israel to undermine peace-talks. (11) It amounts to a particularly damning criticism of a prestigious publication.

Israel is generally held responsible for providing the Trump administration with intelligence about Iran's supposed nuclear program and vested interest in promoting the present war. A statement from the corridors of power and a US intelligence assessment in Washington, however, that found that Iran has made no attempt to rebuild nuclear facilities, has added to diplomatic tensions between the US and Israel. (12) Israel's intelligence was flawed.

The developments carry a strong resemblance to earlier initiatives by Apartheid South Africa to shore up its system in the face of universal condemnation and sanctions imposed by other countries. The country was, increasingly, under siege from perceived adversaries.

The so-called Information Scandal grew out of diplomatic initiatives taken in Pretoria during the early 1970s to counter the problem. The Information Department secretly funded 138 projects designed to influence world opinion, and safeguard the Apartheid State. (13) Hundreds of influential people, including numerous journalists, were subsequently invited to South Africa to project a favourable image. Vast sums of money were allocated for the project; some was never officially accounted for, raising warning signs of illicit operations.
The whole secret operation, however, back-fired and proved counter-productive.

Even after the scandal subsided it was noted that at least half of the 138 secret projects continued to be operational. (14) Financial support was found from elsewhere for what had become vital intelligence organs for Pretoria.

It was, moreover, not coincidental that throughout the same period Israel maintained strong support for South Africa; both were regimes which rested upon supremacist and ethnic ideologies, confronting unfavourable political opinion from elsewhere. (15)

Publicity in South Africa about the Information Scandal was quickly used by the opponents of Apartheid to increase support and hasten the collapse of the political system; those associated with the controversy sought to distance themselves from involvement. The whole Apartheid system eventually ceased to be tenable. Whether a similar scandal is now brewing in Israel, remains the matter in question; it has been noted, for example, that 'Netanyahu is extremely worried'. (16) And so he should be. The writing may be on the wall.

Reports emerging from inside Israel about the widespread political divisions are not difficult to access; policies from the Netanyahu administration to continue to fight wars with neighbouring countries have met with widespread opposition and massive protests. Cracks are becoming openly observable in Israel. Emigration and draft-dodging are commonplace.

The recent Israeli initiative to create a lobbying body to promote favourable images of the Zionist State, therefore, would appear more in line with an act of desperation rather than a clearly planned and careful diplomatic manoeuvre. It is a sign of weakness, not strength.

1.     'Go to hell': Vance ramps up criticism of Israel's public opinion campaign, Australian, 17 July 2026.
2.     Clock is now ticking on Netanyahu's political future, Australian, 20 July 2026.
3.     Australian, op.cit., 17 July 2026.
4.     Former general emerges as Bibi's chief election rival, Australian, 7 July 2026.
5.     Australian, op.cit., 20 July 2026.
6.     Australian, op.cit., 7 July 2026.
7.     Gideon's Spies, Gordon Thomas, (New York, 1999), pp. 54-55.
8.     Ibid.
9.     Ibid.
10.   Australian, op.cit., 17 July 2026.
11.  Ibid.
12.   Tehran 'posed no nuclear threat': American spy chief, Australian, 27 March 2026.

13.   Inside BOSS., Gordon Winter, (London, 1981), pp. 524-525.

14.   Ibid.

15.   The Unnatural Alliance, James Adams, (London, 1984); and, Birds of a Feather: Israel and Apartheid South Africa,  Colonialism of a Special Type, Ronnie Kasrils, Israel and South Africa, The Many Faces of Apartheid, (London, 2015), Part One: Historical Roots, Chapter One, pp. 23-41.  
16.   Australian, op.cit., 20 July 2026.

Ask the question!

Written by: Nick G. on 27 July 2026

 

(AI generated. Supplied)

One of the arts of leadership is to set an example of behaviours appropriate to one’s policies and objectives.

The recent ALP National Conference had the abysmal triumvirate doing just that.

Not wanting participants to see beyond a tightly AUKUS-trated agenda, to ask questions on matters already decided, or to be prepared to listen to dissenting opinion, Albanese, Wong and Marles have set their own example in relation to the AUKUS arrangements.

These “wise monkeys” have denied their own accountability for these arrangements and refuse to ask questions of their imperial masters on many issues, but two typify their “wisdom”. 

They relate to the expansion of the Tindal Air Base outside Katherine in the NT, and the construction of Submarine Base West at Stirling in WA.

Tindal

The Tindal Air Base is being expanded to host six nuclear-weapons capable US B-52 bombers.

Australia has committed over A$14 billion over the coming decade for northern base upgrades, of which Tindal is one element. The US will contribute to the expansion, but Australia will pay for expansion of aircraft parking aprons suitable for B-52 bombers, fuel systems, accommodation, security and communications.

There has been no public debate about why the US should base B-52 bombers in Australia.

The triumvirate say they will not ask the US whether those B-52 are carrying nuclear bombs. They say they respect the US right to neither confirm nor deny such information. 

Stirling

As part of the AUKUS arrangements, HMAS Stirling, the naval base located on Garden Island, 50 km south of Perth, has become part of Fleet Base (West). It is being upgraded as the site for the Submarine Rotational Forces-West (SRF-W) initiative whereby the US and UK would maintain a permanent rotational presence of nuclear-powered submarines at the base. From 2027, that will include one UK Astute Class submarine and up to four US Virginia-class submarines. All are nuclear-powered and capable of carrying nuclear weaponry.

The Australian Government is paying almost all of the infrastructure costs including construction of new wharves and maintenance facilities, utilities, security and housing. These costs are officially estimated to be $8bn. 

Included in the costs are 550 new homes for US and UK submarine crews to be built by private contractors and leased to Defence Housing Australia.

There has been no public debate about why nuclear submarines from foreign countries should be permanently based in Australia.

The triumvirate say they will not ask the US or UK whether those submarines are carrying nuclear missiles. They say they respect the US and UK right to neither confirm nor deny such information. 

In a remarkable admission to the Public Inquiry into AUKUS, Brigadier the Hon. Linda Reynolds CSC (Retd), Minister for Defence (2019-2012) stated:

If kinetic war was to break out to our north, here in Australia I believe we would be not only subjected to heighten hybrid attacks, but we would also be subjected to precision kinetic attacks. The joint facilities, bases and airfields across our approaches are already targets and a capable adversary would strike them early. A war that looked northern would not stay in the north.

NCND

These expansions of US military facilities on Australian soil that make us targets in a kinetic (real) war are consistent with the Force Posture Agreement (FPA) framework which guarantees the US the right to access Australian facilities when and where it likes.

Article 7 of the FPA states:

“United States Forces and its contractors shall have unimpeded access to Agreed Facilities and Areas for all matters relating to the pre-positioning and storage of defence equipment and supplies including delivery, management, inspection, use, maintenance and removal of such pre-positioned material. As mutually determined by the Parties, aircraft, vehicles and vessels operated by or for United States Forces shall have access to aerial ports and sea ports of Australia and other locations, for the delivery to, storage and maintenance in, and removal from, the territory of Australia of United States Forces’ pre-positioned material.”

Not only can it do what it likes, where it likes, it can deny whatever it likes and conceal whatever it likes.

And that is because the simpering triumvirate of US Empire loyalists have agreed between themselves that they just won’t ask their masters any questions that the masters don’t want to answer, such as “Do US B-52 bombers at Tindal carry nuclear weapons?” and “Do US-UK submarines at Stirling carry nuclear weapons?”

It is sad to think that 40 years ago, New Zealand had the guts to do what the Triumvirate won't. They called the US bluff on “Neither Confirm Nor Deny” (NCND) in relation to nuclear weapons brought into that country. In 1984, the USS Buchanan was meant to visit New Zealand. By the early 1980s, New Zealand had developed one of the world's strongest anti-nuclear movements. It led to a NZ government policy that required visiting militaries to declare whether their ships and planes were carrying nuclear weapons.When the US refused to answer the question, the NZ government banned the Buchanan from entering its waters. The US retaliated by suspending NZ’s involvement in ANZUS. Both the ban and the suspension remain in place and NZ still exists.

It is time for Australia to break free from the US.  
Demand that Albanese, Wong and Marles ask the question.
We have a right to know.

 

Labor’s AUKUS-trated Conference denies debate on key issues

Written by: Nick G. on 24 July 2026

 

(CFMEU life member Allen Harris addresses the crowd - photo Supplied)

Approximately 150 people rallied outside the ALP National Conference at the Adelaide Convention Centre this morning.

It was a work day, so many of the participants were retirees with varying degrees of hirsute grey. Fearing their revolutionary intentions, the police had their own greys in attendance – a phalanx of horses known in SA as the “police greys”.

As delegates entered the Convention Centre, many stopped to greet picketers and express solidarity with them, taking leaflets from various organisations. Others refused to acknowledge the picketers, knowing that they were about to role-play a stage-managed event that is so controlled by Labor heavies that there is no chance to debate key issues such as AUKUS.

Extinction Rebellion members provided a theatrical touch with about twenty dressed in orange hazmat gear with anti-AUKUS slogans on their backs, a loud warning alarm directed at the dangers of war, and a dollar-decorated inflatable green sub.

(Photo supplied)

The rally had been called by the Independent and Peaceful Australia Network (IPAN), which coincidentally has its own national conference in Adelaide this weekend.

Under the heading “It’s time to break free from the US”, various speakers addressed the crowd. They included US journalist and film-maker Abby Martin, currently touring with her film “The Earth’s Greatest Enemy”; Electrical Trades Union national secretary Michael Wright, who reiterated the ETU’s opposition to nuclear energy and AUKUS; NSW South Coast Labour Council secretary Arthur Rorris, who explained US plans to turn Pt Kembla into a major US naval base; lifetime CFMEU SA Branch member Allen Harris, who began by expressing solidarity with the ETU’s current battle with BHP, and spoke of all the social initiatives that could be supported with the billions wasted on AUKUS; and Labor Against War’s Marcus Strom who condemned AUKUS and spoke of ALP members’ opposition to it.

The picket at the ALP National Conference comes a week after a series of excellent submissions to the Adelaide Hearing of the Public Inquiry into AUKUS. All submissions can be found by scrolling down on the Inquiry home page here: AUKUS Public Inquiry

 

Report on the ICOR Women’s Event in Paris: Women Confront Imperialism

Written by: ICOR on 23 July 2026

 

Under the title “Women Confront Imperialism,” the initiative for a women’s coordination, launched at the Second ICOR Women’s Conference in Nepal, brought together younger and older women as well as representatives of various political organizations from different countries.

The aim of the event, held recently in July,  was to strengthen ICOR’s profile on women’s issues, promote exchange between women and organizations, and contribute to unleashing the revolutionary potential of the women’s movement. The ICOR women’s meeting marked the beginning of a series of events of this kind.

The event took place at ACTIT, an association of the Confederation of Oppressed Migrants in Europe (AVEG-KON), and brought together nearly 40 women from France, Germany, Cuba, Peru, Turkey and Kurdistan. Women from Palestine, Tunisia and Cameroon also participated online.

In keeping with ICOR tradition, the event was opened with a cultural performance, this time by the Anka Women’s Choir.

On behalf of the ICOR Women’s Coordination, an opening speech emphasized that imperialism condemns women to poverty, double exploitation, hunger and violence. Referring to the Epstein case, it was stressed that the imperialist-capitalist system not only produces economic and social devastation for working people, but also turns women and children into targets of brutal sexual violence, contributing to the overall brutalization of society.

“Contrary to patriarchal bourgeois historiography, it was those courageous women who turned the wheel of history toward women’s liberation: Clara Zetkin, Rosa Luxemburg, Nadezhda Krupskaya, Inessa Armand, Alexandra Kollontai, the socialist women’s movement, and all courageous women.”

The speech saluted the women fighting from Palestine and Kurdistan to Bolivia.

The women were called upon: “Let us learn together and expand the revolutionary struggle against imperialism for the liberation of women and of all humanity.”

Greetings from Gaza

Joining online, Palestinian women’s representative and active participant in the World Women’s Conference of Grassroots Women, Mariam Abu Daqqa, explained that the people of Gaza continue to live under the siege imposed by Zionist Israel. She drew attention to the systematic use of sexual violence against Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons and called for solidarity with the Palestinian people. More than 9,000 Palestinians are currently imprisoned in Israel, including 190 women, three of whom are pregnant.

Mariam Abu Daqqa stated:

“All humanity must become part of the struggle against these colonial attacks. This is necessary to stop this genocide. There is only one way to confront imperialism and Zionism: unite our struggle. The Palestinian people are fighting to defend their land. We salute all those who struggle and resist imperialism.”

Also participating online from Gaza was Suhair Khader, Coordinator of the Palestinian Women’s Committees.

She explained that Palestinian women had consciously and politically decided to remain in Gaza as an act of resistance against colonialism. She warned that a women’s movement that ignores colonialism weakens itself.

“The struggle of women must, on an anti-imperialist basis, also be directed against colonialism.”

Khader emphasized that Palestinian women stand in solidarity with women around the world:

“The unity of women is of great importance. Let us develop the instruments of our common struggle. Let us organize campaigns with international impact. Let us envision a socialist future and fight for it. If we want to build a new world, women will be a decisive part of that process.”

A speech on behalf of the Latifa Tamalaah Women’s Committee of the Patriotic Democratic Socialist Party (PPDS) of Tunisia also stressed that the struggle of women must be part of the struggle of the entire working class and of the fight against racism.

It declared: “The freedom of women in Palestine and Kurdistan is part of the national liberation struggle of these countries. If we unite our forces and fight together, we will win.”

The European Coordinator of the World Women’s Conference of Grassroots Women presented the conference and called for preparations for the next European Conference of Grassroots Women in Paris in January 2027, as well as the next World Conference in Latin America in September 2027.

A message of greeting from ICOR’s Principal Coordinator Monika Gärtner-Engel was also read out. It stated:

“Women’s consciousness has awakened on a broad front and is growing stronger in the struggle against fascist forces and governments, against imperialist wars, environmental destruction, and above all against intensified exploitation, poverty and sexist violence against women.”

Monika Gärtner-Engel further explained that journalist Eva Maria Michelmann had regained her freedom through the joint struggle.

“Now the struggle continues for journalist Ahmed Polat.”

She also emphasized that reactionary fascists seek to confine women to the roles of “mother” and “protector of the family.”

Her message continued:

“Against every intensification of women’s oppression, we develop broad alliances across all currents of the women’s movement. At the ideological level, however, we also engage in debate with petty-bourgeois feminist forces which, by placing the gender struggle at the center, distance themselves from and isolate themselves from revolutionary movements. ICOR is a revolutionary world organization. We encourage women to stand up for the revolutionary perspective of socialism as the path to women’s liberation and to organize themselves accordingly.”

“Give Every Anti-Imperialist Struggle a Women’s Liberation Character”

In a speech by the magazine Socialist Woman, attention was drawn to the multiple crises of the capitalist system:

“This is a crisis of existence. For the bourgeoisie it is becoming increasingly difficult even to find temporary solutions or generate social consent. It can promise people neither social security, nor peace, nor a future worth living.”

Referring to the rise of fascism and religious reaction, the speech continued:

“These phenomena are all different expressions of the same systemic crisis. The historic bankruptcy of the bourgeois order is drawing ever closer.
At the center of this crisis also lies the contradiction of gender relations. Here the decisive question arises: How can revolutionary organizations strengthen both the struggle for women’s liberation and the struggle against imperialism? Our answer is clear: liberation from imperialism is only possible if the struggle against exploitation and every form of oppression is waged as a whole and succeeds through the struggle for socialism. The program of women’s revolution is an inseparable part of every social revolution and possesses a consistently anti-imperialist character. As long as capitalist and imperialist relations of domination exist, women’s liberation cannot be achieved. Likewise, no social revolution can realize its truly liberating potential if it does not place women’s liberation at the center of its program. Therefore, it is the task of revolutionary organizations and parties to give every anti-imperialist struggle a women’s liberation character.”

At the invitation of the ICOR Women’s Coordination, which had shared the solidarity statement with Cuba, the assistant to the Cuban Ambassador to France attended the event and expressed support for the resistance of the Palestinian people.

She pointed to the devastating consequences of U.S. imperialist policy against the Cuban people:

“Power outages in Cuba have reached dramatic proportions. They affect every aspect of daily life. The entire technological infrastructure has become a target of attack. There are severe shortages of medicines. In oncology and pathology there is no access to life-saving medicines. As a result, children are dying. We call on all our friends to oppose this imperialist aggression.”

The French ICOR member organization, the Marxist-Leninist Proletarian Union (UPML), also participated in the event. Its spokesperson, who is also an active organizer within the World Women’s Conference of Grassroots Women, delivered a speech emphasizing the strength of women and the necessity of resisting imperialist aggression.

Michele Abe of UPC-Manidem, participating online from Cameroon, also welcomed the conference.

During a joint discussion session, numerous questions were raised about ICOR’s work. Young participants in particular, who were not yet familiar with ICOR, showed great interest in its overall practice. Particular attention was drawn to the Al-Awda Solidarity Campaign.

It was emphasized that ICOR is a coordinating organization that enables people with differing positions to unite on the basis of common principles in the struggle against imperialism and for socialism.

The event concluded with a solidarity video dedicated to the victims of the earthquake in Venezuela.