Australian News

Whistleblower David McBride has pleaded guilty to three charges after an ACT supreme court upheld a commonwealth intervention to withhold key evidence it deemed as having the potential to jeopardise “the security and defence of Australia” if released.

The former military lawyer’s team suffered a blow on Thursday after they lost a legal bid to overturn a ruling by Justice Mossop preventing McBride from arguing he was fulfilling his duty to the public interest in releasing the classified documents.

cross-posted from: https://feddit.nl/post/6447557

Here’s some more coverage of days 3 and 4 of the McBride trial:

Day 4:

• Whistleblower David McBride loses bid to stave off trial over public interest defence https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/nov/16/whistleblower-david-mcbride-loses-bid-trial-public-interest-defence-act
• Duty bound to hide a crime. Appeals Court paves the way for McBride “guilty” verdict https://michaelwest.com.au/duty-bound-to-hide-a-crime-appeals-court-paves-the-way-for-mcbride-guilty-verdict/

Day 3:

• Commonwealth argues against handing more intel to whistleblower as trial delayed https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/whistleblower-s-trial-delayed-after-judge-rejects-he-was-duty-bound-to-leak-information-20231115-p5ek5c.html
• Whistleblower David McBride’s trial delayed slightly over key public interest argument https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/nov/15/whistleblower-david-mcbrides-trial-delayed-slightly-over-key-public-interest-argument
• Is the law is an ass? David McBride case takes another twist on day three https://michaelwest.com.au/the-law-is-an-ass-david-mcbride-case-takes-another-twist-on-day-three/
• David McBride Trial - Day Three - Consortium News https://www.youtube.com/live/ky7B1cckcjs

The Afghan Files, abc News reports that McBride is the source of (2017):

• The Afghan Files https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-07-11/killings-of-unarmed-afghans-by-australian-special-forces/8466642

Here's some more coverage of the first 2 days of the McBride trial:

• David McBride trial: soldiers shouldn’t be guided by public interest, commonwealth says https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/nov/14/david-mcbride-trial-soldiers-shouldnt-be-guided-by-public-interest-commonwealth-says
• McBride Trial Tests Australian Justice https://consortiumnews.com/2023/11/12/mcbride-trial-tests-australian-justice/
• McBride Trial: A Soldier’s Duty https://consortiumnews.com/2023/11/14/mcbride-trial-a-soldiers-duty/
• Whistleblower McBride in court for exposing war crimes, supported by “War Coalition” https://michaelwest.com.au/whistleblower-mcbride-in-court-for-exposing-war-crimes-supported-by-the-war-coalition/
• Bloody Oath! McBride case – does a officer lawyer’s public duty trump his military duty? https://michaelwest.com.au/bloody-oath-the-mcbride-case-to-hinge-on-who-keeps-their-word-and-to-whom/

See earlier post: https://aussie.zone/post/3906343

• DP World Australia, responsible for 40 per cent of the country's maritime freight, has closed major ports in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, and Fremantle.

• The cybersecurity incident follows a recent national outage from Optus, though the two events are not related.

• The issue could take days to resolve, leading to significant freight delays, the National Cyber Security Coordinator said.

The government does not yet know who was behind a cybersecurity incident that has shut down Australia's second-largest port operator, and could affect freight in and out of the country for days.

• In short: Goods coming in and out of Australia are at a stand still because a major port operator DP World has shut down land operations in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Fremantle

• The federal government is helping respond to the incident.

• What's next? The National Cyber Security Coordinator the situation could take days to resolve, which the ABC understands could lead to significant freight delays.

Australia's second largest port operator has shut down because of a cyber security incident, impacting the movement of goods in and out of the country.

Australia is in a “global race” to stake a claim in the booming solar manufacture market – a supply chain spanning polysilicon, wafers, cells and modules that in 2021 was valued in excess of $US40 billion, an increase of more than 70% from 2020.

At the moment, China has an iron grip on the market, with a share in all of the manufacturing stages of solar panels exceeding 80%. According to the China Photovoltaic Industry Association, the nation’s annual export of solar PV products surpassed $US51 billion in 2022 – a year-on-year increase of 80.3%.

But can Australia muscle its way in?

Wyatt Roy, a former member of the federal Coalition government – and minister for innovation under Malcolm Turnbull – believes it can. And in his current role of strategic advisor to Sydney-based PV innovator and manufacturing start-up SunDrive Solar, Roy is doing his bit to bring some of those global solar billions home.

“You know, Australians love to talk ourselves down. But we literally invented modern solar technology,” Roy told One Step Off The Grid’s Solar Insiders Podcast this week.

“I think last year, globally, there was about $50 billion of revenue in the solar industry, essentially using IP from Australia.

“Unfortunately, very little value of that today is captured in Australia. As we know, 85 to 90% of the world’s solar panels are now manufactured in China. We’re very determined to change that.”

Alt headline (via the ABC): 'Not dead enough': When a man had a heart attack, the Commonwealth Bank told politicians he was a fraudster

Australian pro-surfer Laura Enever has set a new world record for surfing the largest wave ever paddled into by a woman.

The 31-year-old, from North Narrabeen on Sydney's Northern Beaches, paddled into a 13.3-metre (43.6-foot) wave at the famous Outer Reef break on the north shore of Oahu, Hawai'i in January this year.

• Laura Enever previously competed on the WSL Championship tour
• Enever's record-breaking wave was just one foot (30cm) bigger than the previous record
• Brazilian Andrea Moller's record had stood for seven years