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[1] Podcasts, radio, news, music and more.
[2] Good morning.
[3] Welcome to AM.
[4] It's Monday the 3rd of March.
[5] I'm Sabra Lane coming to you from Nipaluna, Hobart.
[6] British Prime Minister Sakir Starmer says Europe's at a crossroads in history and must do the heavy lifting to defend itself.
[7] The comment followed a meeting of world leaders in London to discuss how to work together to stop Russia's war in Ukraine.
[8] Secure has also announced a new deal to allow Ukraine to buy thousands of air defence missiles.
[9] The summit followed the undiplomatic stout at the White House last week between Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky and United States President Donald Trump.
[10] Europe correspondent Mazowie Ford has more.
[11] Mazowie, Sakhir Starmer says Europe's at a crossroads and he's announced a missile deal for Ukraine.
[12] Yes, Sakhir Starmer emerged from that summit of European leaders, Sabra, to announce £1 .6 billion, around $3 .2 billion Australian dollars, in the way of a deal for Ukraine to buy 5 ,000 air defence missiles.
[13] He said the UK was prepared to put boots on the ground and planes in the air.
[14] He said the UK, France and others will work with Ukraine.
[15] on a plan to stop the fighting.
[16] And then they'll discuss that plan with the US and take it forward together.
[17] He said as part of that plan, there were four points.
[18] The first, to keep military aid flowing and keep economic pressure on Russia, an agreement that lasting peace must ensure Ukraine's sovereignty and security and that Ukraine must be at the time.
[19] table.
[20] The third point in the event of a peace deal to boost Ukraine's capability to deter a future invasion was crucial.
[21] And then the fourth, to develop a coalition of the willing to defend a deal in Ukraine and guarantee peace for the future.
[22] And he said that he'd already had countries agreeing to sign up to that coalition, though he said it was going to be up to those countries to make those announcements themselves.
[23] So, he said that Europe could do the heavy lifting, but said that this effort needs strong US backing.
[24] During the press conference, a journalist asked whether or not the European leaders at this summit today discussed Europe going it alone, whether they needed the United States and, crucially, whether they still considered the United States a reliable ally.
[25] This is what Sir Keir Starmer had to say in response to that.
[26] I do not accept that the US is an unreliable ally.
[27] The US has been a reliable ally to the UK for many, many decades and continues to be.
[28] There are no two countries as closely aligned as our two countries.
[29] And our defence, our security and intelligence is intertwined in a way no two other countries are.
[30] So it's an important and reliable ally.
[31] Missouri, this was a hasty and specially organised summit.
[32] What have some of the other leaders said?
[33] Well, Vladimir Zelensky, the President of Ukraine, who was the centre of attention for this summit, Sabra left without speaking to the media.
[34] He boarded a helicopter straight away and flew to Sandringham where he met with King Charles III, a meeting that was organised at the request of the UK government.
[35] And we've seen a post from Buckingham Palace on social media of the King and Mr Zelensky meeting each other there.
[36] So nothing from Wladimir Zelensky at this point.
[37] The Polish Prime Minister, Donald Tusk, has said that the meeting was historic.
[38] He said that it was important that Europe take on more responsibility for military and defence.
[39] on the continent.
[40] And Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission's president, said after a long time of underinvestment, it's now of utmost importance to step up the defence investment for a prolonged period of time.
[41] So just some of the reaction there, Sabra, from some of the leaders, the others were whisked away quickly back to their countries.
[42] Zoe Ford reporting there.
[43] The radical shift in US foreign policy combined with warships sailing off our coast is some wondering if it will change the course of the looming federal election.
[44] The opposition says if it wins the election, it will order more fighter jets and it's kept the door open on other defence spending announcements, arguing a deteriorating security environment calls for more action.
[45] While defence experts largely agree Australia is underspending on its military, they say asking taxpayers to spend more is a tough sell.
[46] Isabel Rowe reports.
[47] We were sailing towards an election dominated by interest rates and cost of living pressures.
[48] But did that change when a flotilla of Chinese warships sailed close to the east coast of Australia?
[49] Former Defence Deputy Secretary and one of Australia's leading experts on strategic issues, Paul Dibb, thinks so.
[50] We need to be able to demonstrate that we've got them under close scrutiny and could do something about it.
[51] The Coalition accuses the Prime Minister of downplaying the significance of...
[52] the ships and this weekend it made a policy announcement with a definite link to the situation, promising a coalition government would acquire an extra 28 F -35 joint strike fighter jets.
[53] Shadow Minister James Patterson.
[54] We're in the business of preventing conflict and the best way to prevent conflict is to be credible without deterrence.
[55] But Anthony Albanese isn't taking criticism, hitting back at any suggestions.
[56] His government is weak on national security.
[57] On Scott Morrison's watch, there were Chinese warships, not around the coast in Sydney Harbour.
[58] The arrival of the Chinese ships coincided with Donald Trump's unexpected plan for Gaza and the deterioration of the US relationship with Ukraine.
[59] Labor has committed to raising defence spending to more than 2 .3 % of GDP.
[60] Paul Dibb says balancing defence spending and other priorities is a tough juggling act for any government.
[61] We tend to be much more relaxed than is appropriate in the current strategic circumstances.
[62] I mean, I do understand.
[63] You can't, unlike some of my colleagues, just say, oh, instead of spending 2 % of GDP, we should double it to 4%.
[64] Well, okay, that means finding another $55 billion a year.
[65] Many in the defence sector say whoever wins needs to make some tough decisions.
[66] I think both sides have been reticent to go down this debate because there's only one direction it can really go, which is how much money you're going to spend, when you're going to spend that.
[67] That's Professor Peter Dean, Director of Foreign Policy and Defense at the United States Study Center.
[68] He says results of the 2022 Australian election study found a relatively small number of people voted on national security concerns, but it is increasing.
[69] Now, that was the largest uptick since Australia committed forces to East Timor in 1999.
[70] So I think there's a growing awareness amongst the Australian public of the threats that we face.
[71] James Patterson says defence spending should increase, but he won't say by how much.
[72] He's also yet to outline how his party would pay for the $3 billion commitment to new F -35s.
[73] Promising voters would get that information before they go to the polls.
[74] Isabel Rowe there.
[75] The ceasefire in Gaza is on shaky ground this morning after a decision by the Israeli government to stop all aid deliveries into the war ravaged...
[76] Strip.
[77] Israel's trying to pressure Hamas into accepting an extension to the ceasefire which expired yesterday in a bid to secure the release of more Israeli hostages.
[78] But Hamas is accusing Israel of committing a war crime and delaying negotiations on a lasting peace in Gaza purely for its own purposes.
[79] Here's Middle East correspondent Matthew Doran.
[80] At the rougher crossing between Gaza and Egypt, trucks sit idling, laden with pallets and pallets of aid.
[81] But drivers like Mahmoud Mustafa Kamal can't go any further.
[82] They didn't allow us in with no reasons.
[83] Give me a convincing reason that this food is not allowed in.
[84] 100 kilometres away, Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was chairing a cabinet meeting, declaring his government's intentions as the six -week ceasefire in Gaza came to an end.
[85] Not you.
[86] There will be no free lunches.
[87] The decision to block all aid entering Gaza is a response to Hamas refusing to agree to extend the current ceasefire through to mid -April.
[88] The Israeli government is pinning itself to a plan it says was crafted by Steve Witkoff, the US President Donald Trump's Middle East envoy.
[89] The proposal involved continuing the truce through the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and the Jewish festival of Passover.
[90] Half of the remaining 59 Israeli hostages held in Gaza, of which more than 30 are believed to be dead, would be freed on day one of the Whitcoff deal.
[91] The rest, once a permanent ceasefire, is agreed to.
[92] Mr Netanyahu saying Hamas' refusal to agree comes at a cost, specifically no more aid deliveries.
[93] Hamas has hit back, labelling it a war crime and cheap blackmail, accusing Mr Netanyahu and his government of trying to undermine negotiations on a lasting peace in Gaza.
[94] This is not going to end well.
[95] Aaron David Miller is a former Middle East analyst at the US State Department and a current senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
[96] He says there's a clear reason why Hamas is not in favour of the Wyckoff proposal.
[97] It's front -loaded in terms of hostages.
[98] If the deal went forward, the Israelis would get 10 living hostages, largely male soldiers, and half of the bodies of those who are sadly dead.
[99] And there does not appear to be in any of the public reporting that I've seen any reciprocal Israeli commitments, number of Palestinian prisoners, guarantees of humanitarian assistance, and any sort of commitment on Israeli withdrawals.
[100] The expiry of the current ceasefire doesn't mean the fighting in Gaza is resuming immediately.
[101] Benjamin Netanyahu is hinting a return to war is on the cards.
[102] If Hamas continues to entrench itself in its position and does not release our hostages, there will be additional consequences and I will not list them here.
[103] An ominous warning as a fragile ceasefire fractures further.
[104] This is Matthew Doran in Jerusalem, reporting for AM.
[105] The parents of two Melbourne women who died due to methanol poisoning in Laos last year are now urging travellers to boycott the country until it thoroughly investigates how the tragedy happened.
[106] Holly Bowles and Bianca Jones are among six people who died after drinking tainted alcohol in Vyang Vyang last November.
[107] Their parents say the investigation into the tragedy is disgraceful and horrendous, as South East Asia correspondent Lauren Day reports.
[108] Three months after his daughter Holly died, Sean Bowles is still struggling to comprehend that she's gone.
[109] Sometimes it's still surreal, you know.
[110] Sometimes it's just like it's...
[111] It's all just a nightmare.
[112] And she'll just come walking through the door, but...
[113] Yeah.
[114] Probably something that you don't want anyone else to go through, for sure.
[115] Holly and her best friend Bianca Jones were among six people who died due to methanol poisoning in the Laos tourist town of Vang Vieng.
[116] Bianca's dad, Mark, says the way the families have been treated by authorities in Laos has been horrendous.
[117] There's been no communication.
[118] We have had no updates.
[119] We're led to believe that they had 12 people in custody.
[120] They've all been released.
[121] Laos Nationals, which had been arrested from what we understand.
[122] So we're just bitterly disappointed that there seems to have been no progress at all.
[123] His partner Michelle agrees.
[124] Our girls were murdered and nothing's getting done.
[125] And that's really hard.
[126] Last month it was revealed Laos authorities had rejected an offer by the Australian Federal Police to help with the investigation.
[127] How did you feel when you found out that they had rejected that offer of support from the AFP?
[128] What are they hiding?
[129] That's what I'm thinking and that's what we're all thinking.
[130] What are they hiding?
[131] Someone's got to be accountable for it.
[132] How confident are you that that'll happen?
[133] Not at all, really.
[134] Neither the government nor police in Laos responded to the ABC's requests for an update on the investigation, with police saying only that they were coordinating with relevant agencies and a spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs resending their only public statement on the incident issued last November.
[135] The families now have a message for anyone thinking of travelling to the Southeast Asian nation.
[136] Don't go.
[137] Don't go to Laos?
[138] No. Don't go.
[139] You want people to come to your country?
[140] Make it safe.
[141] Make it a safe place.
[142] You go to other countries and this doesn't happen.
[143] So you want tourists to keep coming there and visit your country, make it a safe place.
[144] This is Lauren Day reporting for AM.
[145] It's Australia's version of the green card program in the United States.
[146] It's known as the Pacific Engagement Visa and insiders say it's a mess.
[147] It was launched last year and marketed by the federal government as a way of deepening ties with the Pacific, offering permanent residency for up to 3 ,000 citizens from the Pacific and Timor -Leste.
[148] They're chosen through a random ballot each year.
[149] Incredibly, 56 ,000 people applied in the first round.
[150] But successful applicants say the visa rollout's been unsatisfactory with a lack of communication and transparency.
[151] leaving them frustrated.
[152] Lucy Cooper reports.
[153] Seeking a fresh start for his family, Port Moresby resident Sean and his partner decided to apply for the Pacific Engagement Visa.
[154] When we heard that news, we were really excited about it.
[155] It was like a new beginning for us.
[156] Sean's partner was successful, just one of 3 ,000 applicants chosen randomly from the ballot.
[157] He says the PEV support service, established to help applicants find a job, has been difficult to deal with.
[158] They're slow in replying to emails.
[159] They don't have a...
[160] active phone number that you can just call them on.
[161] Once we did get in touch with them, like most of the jobs were all like entry -level jobs, so like cleaners and general labourers and all that.
[162] So nothing in current fields that we were in.
[163] Eventually, Sean found employment, but now he's waiting for his application to be approved, forcing him to delay his move to Australia.
[164] If that time were to lapse again, I'm not sure if I'll still have a job or not.
[165] No employer is going to wait for you to three to six months.
[166] by the Australian government as a way of deepening connections in the Pacific, experts say the Pacific engagement visa has been marred by problems.
[167] I think it's unacceptable that individuals are experiencing a lot of frustration and mental fatigue just to get over this visa process.
[168] That's Natasha Turia, an Australian National University scholar monitoring the PEV.
[169] She surveyed applicants on their experience with the visa.
[170] A majority said they were unsatisfied with the support service.
[171] Time is ticking and we have not been able to get good feedback from immigration or even the PEV.
[172] It's very toxic for them to want to raise their concerns but fear of jeopardising their visa application just for stepping out.
[173] There have also been significant processing delays.
[174] One person has lost three job offers already just waiting for a visa decision.
[175] BBC can also reveal five months after the ballot closed, only 100 of the 3 ,000 visas offered have actually been granted.
[176] Yet, the Australian government says it's satisfied.
[177] I'm heartened by the early momentum of the scheme and I think it will be revolutionary in improving the relationship between Australia and the Pacific.
[178] Minister for International Development and the Pacific, Pat Conroy, wants the visa to be successful and to do so, the innovative scheme will need to be improved.
[179] We have to work.
[180] on this scheme to make it flexible.
[181] And I'm very open to learning and working to make this scheme as successful as possible.
[182] For Sean, it's now a waiting game to start his new life in Australia.
[183] Kids are okay.
[184] I mean, we've explained to them the situation, but they keep, you know, asking every day, oh, when are we going?
[185] Is our visas approved?
[186] When do we start packing?
[187] That's Port Moresby resident Sean ending that report from Lucy Cooper.
[188] On King Island in the Bass Strait, locals are worried about a decline in bull kelp, a type of seaweed which they collect for global export.
[189] Researchers are scrambling to figure out what's causing it, but they say it's likely due to climate change.
[190] So what could a potential kelp decline mean for the future of the island?
[191] Reporter April McLennan travelled to King Island to find out.
[192] 19 -year -old Joseph Daniel finds a piece of bull kelp spat out by the ocean.
[193] Grabbing the type of seaweed with both hands, he drags the kelp further up the beach to dry land.
[194] So a kelp, which is a funny little job.
[195] There's not many places in the world where people do it.
[196] It's where you collect seaweed off the beach and get paid for it.
[197] Most of the bull kelp, or Davilia patatrum, harvested on the island, is collected for alginate extraction, used to produce gels and pastes.
[198] shampoo and even salad dressing.
[199] Where are we?
[200] That's the kelp factory.
[201] This is where you process the kelp and you hang it up to dry.
[202] After the kelp's dried, it's ground into a powder at the kelp factory and exported globally.
[203] Joseph says in the past couple of years, he's noticed less kelp washing up.
[204] People are pretty worried.
[205] You can see a huge difference just when you go free diving for fish in places where there used to be kelp everywhere and covering the rocks.
[206] Now there's just, it's bare.
[207] Debbie Delaney is a PhD candidate with the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies at the University of Tasmania.
[208] The project I'm working on is bull kelp on King Island to look at the impacts of climate change to the species, but also socioeconomic.
[209] to the King Island community.
[210] While there has been reports of declining kelp forests around Tasmania, this doesn't include the bull kelp species, which Ms Delaney said is under -researched.
[211] It doesn't mean economically that it has to relocate to another locality.
[212] If so, what does that mean for the King Island community?
[213] Are there pockets of cold water that we can actually do some restorative activities?
[214] What does it mean for the future?
[215] Inside a laboratory in Hobart, Associate Professor in Seaweed Biology with IMAS, Geoffrey Wright is trying to make baby kelp.
[216] So in this project we're trying to cultivate the Davilius.
[217] The idea being to relocate it in the ocean.
[218] Professor Wright believes there could be many reasons for a potential decline in the bull kelp such as changes in ocean temperature or marine heat waves.
[219] It could be related to changes in wave action and swell or ocean currents that are changing where the bull kelp is washing up.
[220] Back on King Island, Joseph is still scouring the coastline for washed up kelp.
[221] I grew up in a time where I never got to see like everything flourishing.
[222] I only hear stories, stories of it.
[223] It's pretty scary because I guess King Island's always been known as a very industrious little island.
[224] And now, yeah, it's all kind of not looking that way at the moment.
[225] Seaweed collector Joseph Daniel ending that report from April McLennan.
[226] That's AM for today.
[227] Thanks for your company.
[228] I'm Sabra Lane.
[229] Housing in Australia is broken.
[230] Sold, sir, congratulations!
[231] Now more than ever, buying a home is out of reach.
[232] The biggest challenge is renting while trying to save for a deposit.
[233] But for investors, business is booming.
[234] We've massaged that portfolio now.
[235] At one point it was over 40.
[236] So why is the supply and demand for homes so out of whack?
[237] Join me, Sam Hawley, to find out how Aussies became housing hostages.
[238] Find ABC News Daily's five -part series on the ABC Listen app.