Úc

Tết Mao ri?

Ardern's promise to make Māori new year a public holiday is long overdue
https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...s-long-overdue

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When the small Matariki cluster of stars becomes visible over New Zealand’s early Winter morning skies, the country’s indigenous Māori people mark the beginning of their New Year.

The star cluster is also known as Pleaides or Seven Sisters, and traditionally Matariki followed the harvesting of kai or crops. At the time, the food storehouses or pātaka kai were full, thus freeing up time to honour ancestors and celebrate life.

Matariki is still celebrated by eating food and spending time with whānau (extended family), reflecting on the year that has been, acknowledging the dead and planning for the future.

This week, Jacinda Ardern announced that Matariki would be made a public holiday in 2022, should Labour be re-elected to government.

She told reporters that as well as boosting domestic tourism, Matariki will be a distinctly New Zealand holiday and a time to look to the future, taking increasing pride in the country’s unique national identity.

It has got people talking about whether New Zealand should celebrate the Queen’s birthday anymore.

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Người Maori với dân ở các đảo phía nam Thái bình dương có khi là hậu duệ của 50 người con hồi đó theo Lạc long quân vượt biển.

Thủ tướng Tân tây lan thắng lớn:

Jacinda Ardern to govern New Zealand for second term after historic victory
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/oct/17/jacinda-arderns-labour-party-set-for-victory-in-new-zealand-election

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Speaking to 1,000 people at Auckland town hall, Ardern thanked the nation for the strong mandate. She said elections “don’t have to be divisive” and promised to govern with cooperation and positivity, adding that New Zealand could set an example by showing elections don’t have to mean people “tear one another apart”.

She said: “We are living in an increasingly polarised world, a place where more and more people have lost the ability to see one another’s point of view. I hope in this election New Zealand has shown that this is not who we are. That as a nation we can listen, and we can debate. After all, we are too small to lose sight of other people’s perspective. Elections aren’t always great at bringing people together. But they also don’t need to tear one another apart.

“At times of crisis, I believe New Zealand has shown that. This has not been an ordinary election and it is not an ordinary time. It’s been full of uncertainty and anxiety – and we set out to be an antidote to that.”

The words were interpreted as a veiled allusion to the divisive US election, due to take place in two weeks.

Ardern had tears in her eyes as she took to the podium, and appeared moved by the show of support for her party, and leadership. Earlier this week she had said she would quit politics if she was not re-elected.

The first 30 seconds of Ardern’s address was in fluent Māori – the language of New Zealand’s Indigenous people.

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Chúc mừng Tân tây lan lại có chị quân (thay vì anh quân).

Chuyện không thể hiểu.

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Australia aged care: Inquiry hears 50 sexual assaults happen each week

Published
57 minutes ago

https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cp...-158385972.jpg
Getty Images - Australia is holding a national inquiry into aged care providers

An estimated 50 sexual assaults occur each week across Australia's aged care sector, a national inquiry has heard.

Since 2019, the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety has uncovered widespread elder abuse and mistreatment.

On Thursday, investigators said about 2,520 sexual assaults had happened in residential nursing homes in 2018-2019.

"This is a national shame," counsel Peter Rozen QC told the inquiry.

"As disturbing as these figures are, the evidence of the lack of follow-up by the Australian government department that receives the reports is, if anything, worse."

Failures in the sector have drawn great scrutiny this year - more than 75% of Australia's 903 coronavirus deaths have been aged care residents.

But Mr Rozen said evidence showed that "unlawful sexual conduct" had long been a concern, adding it was believed to affect 13-18% of aged care residents.

Many people had placed their older or vulnerable relatives in care homes in the belief it would be safer for them, he added.

"It is therefore entirely unacceptable that people in residential aged care face a substantially higher risk of assault than people living in community," Mr Rozen said.

Overall, investigators estimated that over 32,000 assaults - physical, sexual and emotional - had occurred in a year in such homes.

The abuse was perpetrated by carers as well as other residents.

'Unkind and uncaring'

The royal commission - Australia's top form of inquiry - was established 2018 after a series of scandals in government-subsidised homes.

At the time, Prime Minister Scott Morrison predicted the findings were "going to be tough for us all to deal with" but that "you can't walk past it".

It received more than 10,000 public submissions which detailed concerns of staffing problems, inadequate care, and other matters.

Relatives and residents - including one aged 105 - have appeared before hearings to testify about traumatic experiences.

In a scathing interim report released last October and titled "Neglect" , the inquiry found the system had failed to care for "our older, often very vulnerable, citizens".

"It does not deliver uniformly safe and quality care for older people. It is unkind and uncaring towards them. In too many instances, it simply neglects them," wrote commissioners Richard Tracey and Lynelle Briggs at the time.

They blamed inadequate regulation and issues with staff being over-worked and under-resourced.

In August, in a special report on the pandemic's impact, the commissioners described the sector as "traumatised".

"Care workers develop close relationships with residents. Many are grieving for residents who have died after contracting Covid-19," they wrote.

/* src.: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-54640306

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Chuyện không thể hiểu.

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New Zealand votes to legalise euthanasia in referendum
(... second referendum on legalising cannabis fails)
https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...-in-referendum

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The decision on whether to legalise euthanasia appeared as a referendum question on the 17 October general election ballot paper, alongside a second referendum question on whether to legalise cannabis – which did not succeed, according to preliminary results.

The results of the euthanasia referendum are binding and will see the act come into effect 12 months from the final results – on 6 November 2021.

Assisted dying will be administered by the Ministry of Health.

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Muốn trồng cỏ thì phải dọn ra nghĩa trang.

Nằm vùng:

Sunny Duong, accused of having links to Beijing, vows to fight foreign interference charge
https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...ference-charge

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Di Sanh Duong, who uses the name Sunny, told Guardian Australia he has been accused of working on behalf of the Chinese Communist party – allegations he rejects.“I’m a very popular person, I hold a lot of positions and I have nothing to hide. I will fight them in court,” he said.

“I’ve been here 42 years ... I didn’t [ever] live in China.”

Duong would not answer questions about the specifics of the charge, which came after a year-long investigation undertaken by the counter foreign interference taskforce led by the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation in collaboration with the Australian federal police.

The AFP said in a statement that the charge related to a relationship with a foreign intelligence agency, and that action had been taken at an early stage to disrupt the alleged foreign interference, but did not release further detail.

Duong had previously been a long-time employee of Nelson Bros funeral services, specialising in working with families from a Chinese or Vietnamese background.

But he is also well-known for ties to the Liberal party, which he ran for in the then-state seat of Richmond in 1996. He is reportedly still a member of the party.

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Đảng Liberal của Úc là đảng bảo thủ, không giống "Liberal" ở Mỹ hay Canada.

nhiều sui gia

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=813g8-Hfn3I

Cướp bầu ở Úc? Stop the Steal (in Rockhampton, QLD)!!!


Queensland Labor moves to oust barefoot climate activist as Rockhampton mayor
https://www.theguardian.com/australi...khampton-mayor

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Under new Queensland local government rules, the resignation of a mayor or councillor does not prompt a byelection. Instead, the second-placed candidate from the most recent election is appointed.

Strelow’s only opponent at the Rockhampton mayoral election in March was the independent Chris “Pineapple” Hooper, a local climate and peace activist who sleeps in a CBD shopfront that doubles as a “way out there” drop-in centre for artists.

Hooper – who won 31% of the vote – says the Covid pandemic is “a dress rehearsal for manmade climate change”.

During his campaign, Hooper hand-wrote his press releases. He doesn’t wear shoes or drive a car. A few years ago, the council tried to shut down the drop-in centre.

“I was saying today I might have to buy a new pair of thongs [to go into the council chambers]. I don’t want to dress up in [fancy] clothes. People judge me because I’ve got no shoes on.”

On Tuesday morning, after Strelow’s resignation, Hooper came under pressure to stand aside and allow a byelection.

Moments before he spoke to Guardian Australia, the Labor state MP for Keppel, Brittany Lauga, turned up at Hooper’s shop and tried to persuade him not to accept the mayoralty.

Hooper, who is a former coal train driver and a self-funded retiree, said he would not take a salary if he became mayor. He will also refuse a mayoral car – instead getting around on his collection of pushbikes, which include an orange pedal-powered Kombi van with a “Stop Adani” sign on the side.

The drop-in centre is four doors down from coal-loving senator Matt Canavan’s Rockhampton office. Hooper and others hold weekly protests there on Fridays.

“Matt’s right off the planet,” Hooper said. “We have a fair bit to do with him; every Friday we do a protest outside his office. Some people toot, some people shout out ‘get a job you bastard’.”

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Chắc nhờ hôm Tết cúng 4 trái: bầu, dứa, đủ, xài.

Australian elite soldiers killed Afghan civilians, report finds

Published
3 hours ago

https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cp...s-75898283.jpg

There is "credible evidence" that Australian special forces unlawfully killed 39 people during the Afghan conflict, a long-awaited report has found.

The Australian Defence Force (ADF) has released findings from a four-year inquiry into misconduct by its forces.

The inquiry investigated 57 incidents and heard from more than 300 witnesses.

It had uncovered a "shameful record" of a "warrior culture" by some soldiers, ADF chief General Angus Campbell said.

Nineteen current or former soldiers should be investigated by police over the killings of "prisoners, farmers or civilians" between 2009 and 2013, the report found.

Afghanistan said it had been assured by Australia that it was committed to "ensuring justice".

What did the report find?

It said 25 serving or former soldiers had carried out crimes or been "accessories" to them. Most allegations concerned soldiers within the Special Air Service (SAS) elite unit.

Gen Campbell said none of the alleged killings could be "described as being in the heat of battle".

"None were alleged to have occurred in circumstances in which the intent of the perpetrator was unclear, confused or mistaken," he told reporters on Thursday.

"And every person spoken to by the inquiry thoroughly understood the law of armed conflict and the rules of engagement under which they operated."

Gen Campbell said the most alarming allegations concerned some SAS soldiers who allegedly "took the law into their own hands".

"The report notes that the distorted culture was embraced and amplified by some experienced, charismatic and influential non-commissioned officers and their proteges, who sought to fuse military excellence with ego, elitism and entitlement," he said.

The inquiry - by the inspector-general of the ADF - was conducted behind closed doors, meaning few details have been reported until now.

What's been the reaction?

Last week, Mr Morrison warned the report contained "difficult and hard news for Australians" about its special forces.

"It is the environment [within the ADF], it is the context, it is the rules, it is the culture and the command that sat around those things," he said.

"And if we want to deal with the truth of this, we have to deal with the truth of that."

The office of Afghanistan's President Ashraf Ghani said Mr Morrison had phoned to express his "deepest sorrow" over the findings.

Afghanistan has not commented since the report was made public.

The defence chief's language was as part of this story as the findings themselves. He started by apologising to the Afghan people for any wrongdoing, then told the Australian people they had the right to expect better from their special forces.

He used words like shameful, appalling and toxic when describing the actions of some troops and the culture in which they operated.

And it wasn't just that these alleged executions took place, it was the manner of impunity by which they happened. In fact, according to the report, there was an air of competitiveness within the special forces.

One moment stood out in General Campbell's address: when he described how some junior soldiers had allegedly been coerced to shoot unarmed civilians to get their "first kill" - a practice known as "blooding". He said that weapons and radios had then been allegedly planted to support claims that the victims had been enemies killed in action.

The public version of the report is highly redacted and we don't know details of specific incidents or specific individuals. But it has been enough to make for very uncomfortable reading for the military, the government and for the Australian public.

What happens next?

Last week, Mr Morrison said a special investigator would be appointed to consider prosecutions from information contained in the report.

An independent oversight panel would also be established to provide "accountability and transparency that sits outside of the ADF chain of command", the government said.

Australia maintains an operation of around 400 soldiers in Afghanistan as part ongoing peacekeeping efforts with the US and other allies.

Have other countries faced allegations?

Earlier this year, the International Criminal Court (ICC) began investigating alleged war crimes by the US and others in the Afghan conflict.

The actions of the Taliban, the Afghan government and US troops since May 2003 are expected to be examined.

A 2016 report from the ICC said there was a reasonable basis to believe the US military had committed torture at secret detention sites operated by the CIA.

The report also said it was reasonable to believe the Afghan government had tortured prisoners and the Taliban had committed war crimes such as the mass killing of civilians.

The UK is also investigating whether allegations of unlawful killing by UK Special Forces were investigated properly.


/* src.: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-54996581

chinese charlie hebdo?

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Australia demands apology from China after fake image posted on social media

By Kirsty Needham

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia’s prime minister said a fake image of an Australian soldier posted on a Chinese official’s Twitter account was “truly repugnant” and Canberra was demanding it be taken down, amid deteriorating relations between the two countries.

Scott Morrison called a media briefing to condemn the posting of the image, which depicted an Australian soldier holding a knife to the throat of an Afghan child, and said Canberra was seeking an apology from Beijing.

The Australian government has asked Twitter to remove the tweet, posted on Monday by China’s foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian, Morrison said.

“It is utterly outrageous and cannot be justified on any basis,” Morrison said. “The Chinese government should be utterly ashamed of this post. It diminishes them in the world’s eyes.”

Australia’s relationship with China has deteriorated since Canberra called for an international inquiry into the origins of the coronavirus pandemic.

Earlier this month, China outlined a list of grievances about Australia’s foreign investment, national security and human rights policy, saying Canberra needed to correct its actions to restore the bilateral relationship with its largest trading partner.

Morrison said countries around the world were watching how Beijing responded to tensions in Australia’s relationship with China.

In the latest in a series of trade sanctions, China announced on Friday it will impose temporary anti-dumping tariffs of up to 212.1% on wine imported from Australia, a move Canberra has labelled unjustified and linked to diplomatic grievances.

Australia has told 13 special forces soldiers they face dismissal in relation to an independent report on alleged unlawful killings in Afghanistan, the head of the country’s army said on Friday.

Zhao wrote on Twitter: “Shocked by murder of Afghan civilians & prisoners by Australian soldiers. We strongly condemn such acts, & call for holding them accountable.”

His Twitter account had posted the same message, but without the fake image of the soldier and child, on Friday.

Morrison said Australia had established a “transparent and honest” process for investigating the allegations against the accused soldiers and this “is what a free, democratic, liberal country does”.

Australia had “patiently sought” to address tensions in the relationship with China and wanted direct discussion between ministers, he said.

Reporting by Kirsty Needham; Editing by Shri Navaratnam and Lincoln Feast.

/* src.: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-a...-idUSKBN28A07Y

Di tích lịch sử

Juukan Gorge inquiry: Rio Tinto's decision to blow up Indigenous rock shelters 'inexcusable'
https://www.theguardian.com/australi...rs-inexcusable

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A parliamentary inquiry into the destruction of 46,000-year-old caves has delivered a scathing report criticising the actions of Rio Tinto and calling for the Western Australian government to put a stop to the destruction of heritage until new laws are passed.The majority bipartisan interim report said Rio Tinto’s decision to destroy two rock shelters in Juukan Gorge, against the wishes of the traditional owners and despite knowing the archaeological value of the site, was “inexcusable”.

“Rio knew the value of what they were destroying but blew it up anyway,” the report said.

Dodson said the failures that led to the Juukan Gorge disaster “did not happen out of the blue”.

“These failures were symptomatic of the ‘don’t care’ culture that infected Rio Tinto from the top down,” he said. “It had gone through a rapid decline in the way it did business.”

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