Free Republic

The fake submissions included fabricated quotes from a speech to the state legislature and nonexistent case citations purportedly from the Supreme Court.A senior lawyer in Australia has apologized to a judge for filing submissions in a murder case that included fake quotes and nonexistent case judgments generated by artificial intelligence. The blunder in the Supreme Court of Victoria state is another in a litany of mishaps AI has caused in justice systems around the world. Defense lawyer Rishi Nathwani, who holds the prestigious legal title of King’s Counsel, took “full responsibility” for filing incorrect information in submissions in the case...

The Australian’s Foreign Editor Greg Sheridan discusses the Western left’s “obsession” with Israel and the Middle East. “Cowards like Albanese can jump on the anti-Israel bandwagon because Netanyahu has made Israel so unpopular,” Mr Sheridan told Sky News Australia. “Australia has absolutely zero influence in the Middle East, none at all. “We have a much more obsessive discussion about the Middle East than we have about the South China Sea, or the Philippines or anything like that, because the obsession of the Western left with Israel is a part of its obsession with identity politics.”

Sir Keir Starmer is set to join a call with European leaders and Donald Trump on Wednesday, ahead of the US president’s meeting with Vladimir Putin in Alaska. The Prime Minister warned on Monday that peace “must be built with Ukraine, not imposed upon it”, amid concerns of Kyiv’s from talks between Mr Trump and his Russian counterpart. The two leaders are set to meet this Friday to discuss the future of the Kremlin’s invasion, without the presence of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Mr Trump has confirmed. The US president has also signalled he thinks Ukraine might need to cede...

Just after midnight on February 9, 2013, 23-year-old Shandee Blackburn was stabbed to death while walking home from work at the Harrup Park Country Club in Mackay. The police investigation led to charges and a subsequent trial in 2017, but the accused was acquitted by a jury. In 2020, a coronial inquest identified Shandee's killer. However, no-one has ever been found criminally responsible for her brutal murder. A young girl wearing a colourful dress with a rainbox lorekeet on her arm No-one has ever been found criminally responsible for Shandee Blackburn's brutal murder. (ABC Tropical North: Melissa Maddison) A year...

Crew on a Royal New Zealand Air Force C-130J Hercules have carried out a challenging mid-winter medical evacuation from McMurdo Station in Antarctica. The medical evacuation was requested by the United States' National Science Foundation because staff, based at the United States' McMurdo Station, were unable to receive the medical care they needed in Antarctica. One person required urgent medical care and two others needing medical attention were also taken on the flight. Air Component Commander Air Commodore Andy Scott said the extreme cold, changeable weather conditions plus landing on the ice in the dark make mid-winter flights to Antarctica...

Taiwan has a “far more robust” claim to statehood than Palestine does, former British prime minister Boris Johnson said during a conference in Taipei, Taiwan, according to a Tuesday report by British outlet The Telegraph…. “Never in the wildest dreams of former Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, can he have believed – when he and his colleagues instigated the horror of October 7, 2023 – that only 22 months later the United Kingdom itself would be so craven and pathetic as to fall for Hamas propaganda and to turn against Israel,” Johnson wrote in his column in the UK outlet Daily...

Australia's parliament on Thursday (July 31) passed a law to cut student loans by 20 per cent, wiping more than A$16 billion (S$13.37 billion) in debt for three million people, and fulfilling a key election promise to help mitigate the rising cost of living. The law is the first passed by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's centre-left Labour Party since being re-elected in May with one of the country's largest-ever majorities. "We promised cutting student debt would be the first thing we did back in parliament — and that's exactly what we've done," Albanese said in a statement. "Getting an education...

The ruthless leader of a vigilante gang who tortured an innocent father to try to force a confession out of him for crimes he did not commit is now pleading to be set free. Father-of-eight Bradley 'BJ' Lyons, from Lakes Entrance, Victoria, was threatened with a chainsaw and murdered after his meth addict wife falsely accused him of sexually assaulting her daughters. In December 2023, Lyons' executioner Albert Thorn, 60, was told he would likely die in jail after he was convicted over the evil ordeal. Supreme Court of Victoria Justice Andrew Tinney sentenced Thorn to life behind bars, with...

Our Troops Rock! Thank you for all you do! For the freedom you enjoyed yesterday... Thank the Veterans who served in The United States Armed Forces. Looking forward to tomorrow's freedom? Support The United States Armed Forces Today! ~ Hall of Heroes ~Nancy Wake"The White Mouse"Info and some photos from this website. Young Rebel Nancy Wake (Aug 30, 1912 - Aug 07, 2011) was born in the gusty heights of Roseneath, Wellington, New Zealand, on 30 August 1912 to Charles Augustus and Ella Rosieur Wake, the youngest of six children. The biography Nancy Wake, by Australian journalist and rugby personality...

A Colorado family has fled the US for New Zealand over concerns their nine-year-old transgender daughter could be persecuted if they stay in America. Parents Brandon and Candace, who would not reveal their last name over safety fears, left Denver earlier this month with their kids Holt and Chase.Chase, nine, came out as transgender several years ago and the family started planning a way out after President Donald Trump returned to the White House. The day he did, Trump signed an executive order stipulating that there are only two genders, the family said that within 24 hours they had decided...

The New Zealand government has been accused of covering up data on the nation’s Covid “vaccine” deaths in order to support its own narrative that the mRNA injections are “safe and effective.” The government’s Royal Commission has been tasked with investigating the nation’s COVID-19 response. However, the body is facing intense criticism for ignoring key scientific data and creating a narrative that unquestioningly supports government policies and the “safety” of mRNA “vaccines.” The inquiry, now in Phase Two, is focusing on the mass “vaccination” campaign. However, the Commission is being accused of dismissing credible concerns and cherry-picking evidence to back...

That follows a spectacular backflip Thursday where the left-wing Labor government of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced the end of all restrictions levelled against American beef imports in a move the White House hailed as a major victory over “non-scientific trade barriers” that had stranded U.S. farmers “on the sidelines” for two decades. American farmers and ranchers produce the safest, healthiest beef in the world. It’s absurd that non-scientific trade barriers prevented our beef from being sold to consumers in Australia for the last 20 years.

Australia could become a supplier of weapons and munitions for the United States under a new radical proposal designed to better equip the world’s largest military to deal with any threat in the Indo-Pacific.The Guided Weapons and Explosive Ordnance (GWEO) Enterprise, developed in partnership with the United States, is geared towards building local production facilities for missiles and munitions in Australia.Launched in 2021, the project is backed by a government commitment of $16–21 billion over the next decade.Despite some progress—including the release of the Australian government’s GWEO Plan in late 2024—the project still faces obstacles.As a result, its growth has...

The most recent protests, from Friday, were led by Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa (PSNA). Beyond the pickets, the group, along with a lawyer, have referred Rocket Lab CEO Peter Beck, minister for space and for defence Judith Collins and others to the office of the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court. Why? Because PSNA believes that Rocket Lab activities may have intentionally contributed to war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide committed by Israel.In a statement provided to The Spinoff, a Rocket Lab spokesperson said the company “strongly refutes PSNA’s false and irresponsible claims” and that it is considering its...

Australia will refuse any US request to join a “hypothetical” conflict with China over Taiwan and won’t make any advance commitment, the defence industry minister, Pat Conroy, has said, amid reports Washington is seeking such promises in discussions over the Aukus submarines. The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, also pushed back on such a request, alluding to America’s own position of so-called “strategic ambiguity” on whether the US would militarily respond in a conflict over Taiwan. He said Australia wanted to see “peace and security” in the region. Following multiple reports this week that the Pentagon was seeking guarantees from Australia...

Chinese President Xi Jinping says relations with Australia have “turned around” as the two countries stress dialogue and seek to stabilise trade in the face of global tensions. Xi made the remarks as he hosted Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Tuesday. The six-day visit by Albanese – his second as prime minister – aims to boost economic cooperation with Beijing, Australia’s top trading partner. “No matter how the international landscape may evolve, we should uphold this overall direction unswervingly,” Xi said, acknowledging that China-Australia ties had “risen from the setbacks”....

He ran into enemy fire three times to rescue a wounded comrade and help recover the body of another.Fifty-seven years after his acts of bravery in the Vietnam War, Private Richard Norden has been posthumously awarded Australia's highest military honour.An investiture ceremony was held in Rockhampton on Tuesday morning, where the Governor-General presented the Victoria Cross medal to his widow, Robynn Freeman.For family, friends and former colleagues, the day has been "a long time coming".A legacy of mateshipPrivate Norden, from Gundagai in New South Wales, was just 19 years old when his platoon came under attack during the 1968 Battle...

(Reuters) -The Pentagon is urging Japan and Australia to clarify what role they would play if the U.S. and China went to war over Taiwan, the Financial Times reported on Saturday.Elbridge Colby, the U.S. under-secretary of defense for policy, has been pushing the matter during recent talks with defense officials of both countries, the report said, citing people familiar with the discussions.According to the newspaper, the reported request caught both Tokyo and Canberra off guard, as the U.S. itself does not offer a blank cheque guarantee to defend Taiwan. Colby said in an X post that the Department of Defense...

Australians will soon be subjected to mandatory age checks across the internet landscape, in what has been described as a huge and unprecedented change. Search engines are next in line for the same controversial age-assurance technology behind the teen social media ban, and other parts of the internet are likely to follow suit. At the end of June, Australia quietly introduced rules forcing companies such as Google and Microsoft to check the ages of logged-in users, in an effort to limit children's access to harmful content such as pornography. But experts have warned the move could compromise Australians' privacy online...

In the early 2000s, Sydney was rocked by a series of gang rapes. Victims were ordinary Australian girls, some as young as 13. The perpetrators were Muslim, mostly Lebanese and some Pakistanis. Two cases—the Skaf brothers case and the Khan brothers case—received extensive newspaper coverage, but the phenomenon was more widespread. Sexual assault rates increased 25 percent between 1996 and 2003 in Sydney, even as every other type of violent crime was declining. The gang rapes were similar to the “grooming gangs” operating in Great Britain during the same period. The difference is that in Britain the problem was allowed...