16 News

Family First National Director and NSW Legislative Council candidate Lyle Shelton is urging Australians to attend Shen Yun’s Australian tour in the wake of the bomb threat that forced Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to evacuate The Lodge.

A Chinese-language email warned that explosives had been placed at the Prime Minister’s residence and that “blood will flow like a river” if Shen Yun’s Gold Coast performance proceeded. Police later confirmed the threat was a hoax.

Mr Shelton said while it has not been proven that the threat originated from the Chinese Communist Party, Australians would be naïve not to consider that possibility.

Given the CCP’s long-running hostility to Shen Yun and its global campaign to silence critics, it is not wrong to suspect the regime or its sympathisers may be involved in bomb threat.”

The Chinese Consulate-General in Sydney, along with the Chinese Consulate in Melbourne, has issued public statements urging Australians not to attend Shen Yun performances. Those statements have described the show — which is presented by a group linked to Falun Gong — as inauthentic or politically motivated, and warned against what they call its “political framing”.

Mr Shelton said such interventions amount to foreign interference in Australia’s cultural life.

It is completely unacceptable for foreign diplomatic missions to pressure Australians about what cultural performances they should or should not attend,” he said.

Shen Yun presents ‘China before communism’ — a celebration of 3,000 years of civilisation before the violent Leninist takeover of 1949.”

In 1949, the CCP seized control of mainland China following civil war. Historians estimate that up to 100 million people perished under communist campaigns, purges, famine and political violence during the twentieth century.

Mr Shelton attended a Sydney performance by Shen Yun Performing Arts last year.

I greatly appreciated the production’s honest portrayal of the persecution of religious believers and dissidents under communist rule,” he said.

This is the China the CCP does not want Australians to see — a rich cultural heritage that predates and contradicts communist ideology.”

Mr Shelton said the appropriate response to threats and intimidation is not retreat but resolve.

Australia is a sovereign nation. We will not have our Prime Minister threatened, nor our artistic freedoms curtailed, by foreign powers,” he said.

If anything, Australians should turn out in even greater numbers to support Shen Yun and send a clear message: intimidation will not work here.”

The Albanese Government is strengthening Defence capability in northern Australia, with major milestones reached on delivering the $250 million HMAS Cairns wharf upgrade and the completion of a new shared-user training facility for Australian Navy Cadets.

The HMAS Cairns wharf upgrade is part of the Navy Capability Infrastructure Subprogram (NCIS), supporting the next generation of Navy vessels, including the Hunter class frigates, Supply class auxiliary oiler replenishment ships, and Arafura class offshore patrol vessels.

Delivered by BESIX Watpac, the new 212-metre wharf will enable Arafura class vessels to operate from HMAS Cairns, reinforcing the Royal Australian Navy’s presence in North Queensland and enhancing Australia’s maritime security.

Built for resilience, the wharf has been elevated above surrounding infrastructure to withstand rising king tide levels and ensure it continues to meet Navy operational requirements for decades to come.

Through this project, more than 770 workers have worked onsite, with a peak workforce of 90 people on site each day. 13 major subcontractors have been engaged, with $67.7 million awarded to local businesses within 125 kilometres of Cairns.

Local Indigenous-owned organisations have secured almost $800,000 in contracts, while Indigenous employees have contributed more than nine per cent of total workforce hours.

Complementing the wharf upgrade is a new $11.5 million shared-user facility completed two kilometres south of HMAS Cairns.

The new facility, delivered by Hutchinson Builders, will provide a permanent home for Australian Navy Cadets from Training Ship Endeavour, including offices, classrooms, boatshed and a fully equipped galley.

Located adjacent to the Great Barrier Reef International Marine College, the new facility will strengthen integration with Cairns’ marine education and training sector.

Assistant Minister for Defence, Peter Khalil:

“These projects are critical to the Royal Australian Navy’s future capability and demonstrate our Government’s commitment to delivering ungraded Defence infrastructure across northern Australia.

“The new wharf at HMAS Cairns will support Arafura class offshore patrol vessels, enhance engagement with our Pacific partners and ensure our Navy is equipped to meet operational demands well into the future.

“Just as importantly, it’s great to see this investment delivering strong local outcomes as well, with more than $67 million flowing to regional businesses and meaningful participation from Indigenous organisations and workers.”

Assistant Minister for Northern Australia and Senator for Queensland, Nita Green:

“North Queensland has always been strategically important, and these investments recognise the region’s role in keeping Australia safe while supporting local livelihoods.”

“From construction through to ongoing operations, these upgrades create lasting employment and training pathways for North Queenslanders.”

Member for Leichardt, Matt Smith MP:

“This upgrade ensures HMAS Cairns remains a major employer and economic anchor for the region for decades to come.”

“The new Navy Cadets facility gives young people in Cairns and surrounding communities a direct pathway into Navy and maritime careers, without having to leave the region.”

This week I will travel to Samoa and Niue to continue to strengthen Australia’s deep ties of friendship, respect and trust with our Pacific partners.

Australia is a partner the Pacific can count on – listening and acting alongside Pacific leaders to build a peaceful, stable and prosperous region.

In Samoa, I will meet Prime Minister Laʻaulialemalietoa and members of his Cabinet to advance Australia’s and Samoa’s cooperation across security, governance, climate, health, education, and economic growth, reflecting our shared commitment to Pacific-led solutions.

In Niue, I will meet Prime Minister Tagelagi to discuss Niue’s development priorities and our shared ambitions for climate action in the Pacific.

Australia is proud to be the Pacific’s largest and most comprehensive development partner, with increased investment in shared security, health and climate resilience to ensure our region is safe and secure in a more uncertain world.

I look forward to the opportunity to advance our partnerships and celebrate the contributions we have made to each other’s societies. Together, we are building a stronger Pacific family.  

Over 20 Australian children have been held in desert detention camps in Syria for half-a-decade. One Nation, the Liberals and Labor have condemned these children to a dangerous and uncertain future in their lurch towards anti-immigration dog whistling.

Responding to the hateful campaigning of One Nation, the current Coalition Leader, Angus Taylor, now wants to make it a crime to help these children. This needs repeating, the Coalition wants to make it a crime to help bring Australian children to safety.

This is not a gimmick, it is not a sound bite, it is not a political move. This is a betrayal of core human values.

Senator Shoebridge, Greens Spokesperson on Home Affairs, said:

“The first responsibility of any Australian government is to keep Australian children safe. It is extraordinary how few politicians in Canberra seem to understand this basic fact.

“Last September I met with one of the children held in these camps who was 6 years old and spoke with a broad Australian accent that took me straight home. She drew me a picture of her favourite story, Rapunzel, with roses she had never seen in a garden she could only dream of.

“The 23 Australian children trapped in the dangerous Syrian detention camp are victims of ISIS. They had no choice in going to Syria to have their childhoods devastated like this.

“It is shocking that both Angus Taylor and Anthony Albanese are failing a moral test that was set by Scott Morrsion who said when he assisted children to return in 2020 that ‘these young children who are coming back to Australia, they can’t be held responsible for the crimes of their parents.’

“The women and children who are Australian citizens will come home, the only thing that will change is how they come home. Will it be in an orderly and monitored way where Australian agencies can integrate people back into the community and monitor community safety or will it be an unplanned and risky mess?

“One Nation, Labor and the Coalition are in a race to the bottom here, demonising children, stoking fear and now threatening to jail people for the ‘crime’ of bringing kids to safety.

“When I met with local Syrian representatives last year they knew the dangers of ISIS, they had fought the appalling war against them and defeated them. They said Australia should bring these women and children home because they are our responsibility. The US has said the same.

“Once the Government abandons, defames and attacks children who have done nothing wrong, what is to stop them doing this to any Australian citizen?

“There is a moral vacuum at the heart of this debate which is the real threat to Australia, and that’s the threat politics needs to meet.”