16 News

The Minns Labor Government has taken decisive action to shore up water supply in Narrabri, committing an additional $4 million in funding to deliver critical new infrastructure for drinking water.

The new funding for Narrabri Shire Council will deliver a portable water treatment plant to treat water from two PFAS-contaminated bores to a level that meets Australian Drinking Water Guidelines.

It will also support the investigation and delivery of new production bores to significantly increase town water supply.

PFAS was found in two of the town’s three bores in November last year and Narrabri Shire Council introduced water restrictions in early October 2025 when water demand began to increase.

In response to dropping reservoir levels, the NSW Government took the immediate step of providing the Council with $50,000 in emergency funding to deliver a new pump for the town’s operating bore, while working towards a long-term solution.

Fast and efficient to install, the new portable plant is expected to be up and running in a few months and will treat raw water from Narrabri’s existing bores to meet safe drinking water guidelines.  

It is the same system currently being used at Sydney Water’s Cascade Water Treatment Plant in the Blue Mountains.

Combined with the newly-installed pump, the portable plant will boost water supply for Narrabri’s 7,000 residents while the NSW Government works closely with Council to look at converting two new test bores at Salesyard and Logan Lane into production bores.

Minister for Water Rose Jackson said:

“I was very clear that we would go the extra mile to help Narrabri respond to the PFAS issue and secure a more reliable water supply.  Local member Roy Butler has also been a fierce advocate for his community.

“I recognise water restrictions have a big impact on residents, which is why we moved quickly to find a solution.

“We already put $50,000 on the table last month to fund a larger pump and now we are investing up to $4 million to get a mobile treatment plant up and running.

“Work has already started to find alternative bore sites that are free of PFAS and this funding will support that work, putting Narrabri in a stronger position to manage its water supplies.”

Member for Barwon Roy Butler said:

“Since Narrabri Shire Council asked for help in September, there has been an intensive effort across multiple government departments to quickly find solutions for Narrabri’s drinking water problem.

“Such a quick turnaround would not have been possible without the support of the government and, in particular, Water Minister Rose Jackson.

“I welcome this $4 million commitment to solve the problem and extend my thanks to Minister Jackson and the NSW Government.”

The one-year anniversary of the Guided Weapons and Explosive Ordnance (GWEO) Plan has been marked by the opening of an office in Newcastle dedicated to the $850 million missile manufacturing partnership with Kongsberg Defence Australia.

The new Kongsberg office is an important milestone in the partnership which is creating hundreds of jobs in the Hunter and is expected to pump $100 million into the local economy. It will see Australia home to only the second factory in the world, and the first outside of Norway, to produce the Joint Strike Missile and Naval Strike Missile. 

This missile manufacturing hub represents a deepening in Australia’s defence relationship with Norway. It will not only supply missiles to the Australian Defence Force (ADF), but also create opportunities for exporting missiles to trusted partners around the globe.

Released in October 2024, the GWEO plan is a blueprint for a generational uplift in Australia’s defence industrial capabilities. The Government is working closely with industry to ensure speed to capability through a number of key initiatives outlined in the GWEO Plan, including:

• Establishing a Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS) missile manufacturing capability in Australia, with production on track to commence by the end of 2025.
• Investing up to $850 million with Kongsberg Defence Australia to build a Naval Strike Missile and Joint Strike Missile factory in New South Wales, with construction underway and missile production on track to start in 2027.
• Committing $11 million to establish a facility at Defence Establishment Orchard Hills to assemble and maintain explosive components for Naval Strike Missile and Joint Strike Missile.
• Funding more than $500 million to uplift Australian companies to manufacture and maintain guided weapon components.
• Delivering an initial commitment of $22 million towards the establishment of a solid rocket motor manufacturing capability.
• Signing agreements with the United States to support: Assembly and future co-production of GMLRS missiles; Transfer of Intellectual Property and standards for 155mm artillery; and Access to co-development, co-production and co-sustainment of Precision Strike Missiles (PrSM) under a cooperative program. 
• Signing a Joint Statement of Intent with Lockheed Martin and the United States Department of War, paving the way for further co-development and production of critical long-range fires, beginning with variants across the GMLRS family of munitions and the PrSM.
• Opening a joint office in Huntsville, Alabama, to serve as the central hub for coordination between Australia and the United States on the acquisition and development of the PrSM capability, and to oversee its production and sustainment.
• Committing $7 billion to acquire Standard Missile 2 Block IIIC and Standard Missile 6 from the United States.
• Committing $142 million to acquire the Joint Strike Missile and $650 million to acquire additional stocks of Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile – Extended Range.
• Acquiring additional quantities of AIM-120 Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles and AIM-9X Sidewinder missiles.
• Contracts have been awarded for torpedo production following the March 2025 agreement with the United States for additional MK-48 Heavy Weight Torpedo.

The focus on speed to capability has seen Defence already introduce a number of these capabilities into service following the successful live test firings of Naval Strike Missile, Standard Missile 6 and Tomahawk cruise missile in 2024, and the Long-Range Anti-Ship Missile and Precision Strike Missile in 2025. 

Minister for Defence Industry, the Hon Pat Conroy MP:

“In just 12 months, Australia has come a long way towards sovereign missile manufacturing and increasing our long-range strike capabilities, backed by a commitment of up to $21 billion in the Defence Integrated Investment Program.

“Australian industry is at the heart of this plan, with more than $500 million set aside to uplift Australian companies and to help insulate us from global supply chain pressures.”

“By the end of this year, we will begin manufacturing Australia’s first guided missile on home soil – a significant feat that will strengthen sovereign Australian supply chains and get these weapons into the hands of the war fighter sooner.”

The Australian Government has imposed financial sanctions and travel bans on four entities and one individual engaged in cybercrime to support and fund North Korea’s unlawful weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs.

The scale of North Korea’s involvement in malicious cyber-enabled activities, including cryptocurrency theft, fraudulent IT work and espionage is deeply concerning.

UN-sanctioned North Korean entities have deep links with malicious cyber activities, as outlined in the second report by the Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team (MSMT). The report found:

• North Korean cyber actors stole at least $1.9 billion in cryptocurrency from companies around the world in 2024, and used a global network of North Korean nationals and foreign facilitators to launder stolen digital assets.
• North Korean officials used cryptocurrencies to sell and transfer military equipment and raw munitions materials such as copper.

The Australia Government is taking this action with the United States to apply pressure on North Korea’s illegal revenue generation networks and address its persistent challenges to security and stability.

Australia will continue to work with international partners to respond to malicious cyber activity, promote the framework for responsible state behaviour in cyberspace and keep Australians safe.

We call on North Korea to comply fully with United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions to abandon its unlawful weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs in a complete, verifiable and irreversible manner.

We encourage all Australians to be vigilant about their cyber security, and be aware that payments to entities and individuals listed under Australia’s autonomous sanctions framework could result in action by law enforcement agencies.

Today I met with Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, head of the United Transitional Cabinet of Belarus.

Ms Tsikhanouskaya is an advocate for a free and democratic Belarus. Her decision to run in the 2020 presidential election in Belarus after the politically motivated imprisonment of her husband Serhei reflects her determination to support the Belarusian people’s aspirations for a free and democratic future.

The 2020 elections, and those held in Belarus since, have been marked by a concerning lack of transparency.

Ms Tsikhanouskaya’s visit is an important reminder to Australians of the situation in Belarus under the Lukashenko regime. Reports that thousands of individuals in Belarus have been unjustly detained, subjected to torture, or forced into exile are alarming.

The Lukashenko regime’s support for Russia’s illegal and immoral invasion of Ukraine undermines security in Europe. The Australian Government has taken strong action in response, including sanctions on Lukashenko and others supporting Russia’s war.

The Government reiterates its call on the Lukashenko regime to fully adhere to its obligations under international law and to cease support for Russia’s destabilising actions.

I commend Ms Tsikhanouskaya’s bravery and her fight for universal values of democracy and human rights.

This morning, the Senate will debate the Higher Education Support Amendment (End Dirty Uni Partnerships) Bill 2025. This Bill requires universities to disclose and divest from any partnerships with dirty industries, including weapons manufacturers, gambling, fossil fuel and tobacco companies.

The Higher Education Support Amendment (End Dirty Uni Partnerships) Bill 2025 requires all universities receiving Commonwealth funding to:

• Disclose all links with dirty industries;
• Divest from all partnerships, investments and other monetary ties with dirty industries;
• Not enter into any new ‘prohibited partnerships’ with the weapons, fossil fuels, gambling, and tobacco industries.
• The Bill also prohibits universities from appointing to their governing bodies any individual with ties to these industries.

The Bill comes at a pertinent and challenging time, as the climate crisis escalates and fossil fuel companies record mammoth profits, and as weapons manufacturers pocket billions while people are slaughtered in their thousands by their war machines.

Earlier this year, the National Union of Students organised a referendum in which students across the country voted overwhelmingly for universities to divest from all partnerships with weapons companies, with over 5,000 students voting across roughly 20 campuses and the motion passing with 98% voting in favour. Student and staff-led movements have for years called for divestment from these dirty industries.

The National Tertiary Education Union has longstanding opposition to university investment in the development and manufacture of weapons, and earlier this year reaffirmed their call for universities to divest from military and weapons companies.

The links between universities and dirty industries are extensive, but details of the extent of these relationships are unclear. The Australia Institute’s recent Fossil-Fuelled Universities report found that 26 of Australia’s 37 public universities take money from fossil fuel companies, including Woodside, AGL and Santos. Monash University has recently announced the closure of its sustainability institute, while ramping up its partnership with climate-destroying Woodside.

Just yesterday, it was reported that ANU purchased shares in Elbit Systems, one of the key weapons companies profiting off Israel’s genocide in Gaza, as recently as March this year, while Western Sydney University has recently signed an agreement with weapons manufacturer Lockheed Martin.

Senator Mehreen Faruqi, Deputy Leader of the Greens and spokesperson for Higher Education:

“Universities should be fully funded to be places of democracy, equity and public good, not places that help dirty industries profit from human misery. Having these links to dirty industries betrays this core purpose and the mission of academia.

“The audacity of ANU investing in weapons companies even under heavy scrutiny from staff and students shows their hand will have to be forced. This bill is about making sure universities have to disclose and divest from dirty industries like weapons, gambling and fossil fuels. There is no place for these industries in our universities.

“There can be no justification for universities investing in weapons manufacturers whose killing machines are enabling Israel’s genocide in Gaza.

“Our universities should not be helping fossil fuel companies greenwash their climate crimes and environmental destruction.

“Universities across the country receive millions of dollars from major arms manufacturers like Lockheed Martin and Thales, who are profiteering from genocide.

“The rules are so lax that we don’t even know the full extent of these dirty partnerships, which is deeply concerning given the governance issues rife in the sector.

“Universities have shamefully failed to heed the calls of the courageous staff and students who have long been calling for weapons-free and fossil-free campuses.

“Dirty money should stay out of universities. I urge the major parties to support this important Bill.”

James McVicar, Education Officer of the National Union of Students:

“Students have spoken. In the National Student Referendum on Palestine, we demanded an end to weapons companies on our campuses. Universities should be places of learning that contribute to making the world a better place. Instead they churn out profits for climate criminals and arms dealers.”

Bella Beiraghi, spokesperson for Students for Palestine:

“Over the past two years of Israel’s genocide in Gaza, students have mobilised in opposition to our government and our universities ties to weapons companies. Universities function in many cases as the “brains behind the bombs”, facilitating research and even manufacturing with some of the largest weapons companies in the world. Students for Palestine will continue to campaign for a weapons-free university sector.”

Toyo White, spokesperson for Stop Woodside Monash:

“Monash University continues to run campaigns on its supposed climate credentials and associating its image with taking action, as ‘every second counts’. But running this campaign, while dismantling a climate research institution and continuing to buddy-up with climate criminals in its Woodside partnership, is infuriating.

No public institution should be partnering with these companies. To talk about building leaders of the future, whilst assisting companies like Woodside who are destroying said future, is untenable.”

The Senate has rejected the Albanese Government’s plan to put a use-by-date on ‘we will remember them’ and impose a 20-year limit on reviews of military honours and awards.

In a stunning condemnation of Labor’s plan to restrict the timeframe for reviewing heroic actions by Australian Defence Force personnel, the Coalition joined forces with the crossbench to discharge the Defence Honours and Appeals Tribunal Bill 2025.

Opposition Leader Sussan Ley said the outcome was a humiliating defeat for the Prime Minister and his Veterans’ Affairs Minister.

“It’s a great victory for veterans, their families and ADF personnel,” Ms Ley said.

“Putting a time limit on honouring acts of bravery was disrespectful and completely out of step with Australian values. Our nation believes in recognising service and sacrifice whenever the truth comes to light, not only when it suits a government’s timeline.”

Ms Ley said the Senate’s decision reflected what the community already knew.

“Service to our country doesn’t expire after 20 years, and neither should the chance to correct an injustice. Australians expect fairness for those who wear the uniform, and the Senate has protected that principle today.”

Shadow Minister for Veterans’ Affairs Darren Chester said the Government’s failure to demonstrate a single shred of veteran support for the proposal spoke volumes.

“In Question Time, the Minister for Veterans’ Affairs couldn’t name one veteran who supported the Bill, and the Prime Minister cut him loose. This was a disgraceful and unnecessary attack on an independent Tribunal and a complete distraction from the real issues impacting veterans’ wellbeing.”

Mr Chester said the Senate’s decision was a forceful rejection of Labor’s attempt to wind back rights that veterans and families have relied on for more than a decade.

“If the Albanese Government persists with this mean-spirited plan, the Bill will have to return to the House of Representatives, but the Prime Minister should face reality and bin it permanently,”

“This Bill was opposed by veterans, ex-service organisations and the Tribunal itself. Defence officials even admitted they didn’t consult the independent Tribunal before drafting it. That is an extraordinary failure of respect and process. Our veterans deserve better than a government that tries to strip away their rights and silence their appeals.

“The current system works because it is independent, fair and trusted. Labor’s Bill would have shut the door on cases that deliver long-overdue justice and recognition, undermined the Tribunal’s integrity and damaged confidence among those who have served. The Senate has done the job the Prime Minister refused to do, which is stand up for veterans and protect their rights.”

Established in 2011, the Defence Honours and Awards Appeals Tribunal provides an independent pathway for reviewing Defence decisions on medal recognition dating back to 1939.

The Tribunal warned Labor’s changes would gut most of its work, including landmark reviews such as those involving Victoria Cross heroes Teddy Sheean and Richard Norden.

The Senate inquiry received 63 submissions, with only one supporting the Bill from the Department of Defence, which wrote it.

Tribunal Chair Stephen Skehill told the inquiry it would strip Defence personnel of their rights and “work against the wellbeing of Defence personnel”, while RSL NSW said the proposal was “disgraceful” and would devalue service and harm veterans’ health.

Mr Chester said Labor had completely misread the veteran community.

“This was arrogant and deeply disrespectful to those who have served our nation. Veterans fought this Bill and today they won.”