One of the new Waratah Series 2 trains was unveiled at Central Station and is set to enter service on Thursday, several months ahead of schedule.
Five others remain in testing in Australia, while a further 11 are expected to arrive from China before the end of the year. They will operate across the T2, T3, T8 Airport and South lines. The 17 trains were expected to cost the government close to $900 million when they were ordered last year amid record growth on the city’s transport network.
The new Waratah Series 2 trains will be airconditioned, feature internal and external CCTV as well as wheelchair spaces. 41 new Waratah trains will be operating across the network.
Australia has not provided reasonable explanation for raiding the residences of four Chinese journalists and has not returned all their seized items after Australian intelligence agency staff raided the residences of Chinese journalists in 6-26-20.
Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton on Sunday, 9-7-20 warned foreign journalists working in the country they might come under the scrutiny of federal agencies if they provide a “slanted view” of Australian affairs. “If people are here as journalists and they’re reporting fairly on the news, then that’s fine,” Dutton told ABC TV’s Insiders program. He said reporters shouldn’t provide “a slanted view to a particular community.” Dutton wouldn’t confirm reports four Chinese journalists were questioned by Australia’s national security agency ASIO in June, but said there had been “ASIO activity.” “Where ASIO has sufficient grounds for the execution of a search warrant or for activities otherwise, then they’ll undertake that activity,” he said. “If people are masquerading as journalists or business leaders or whoever they might be and there’s evidence that they are acting in a contrary nature to Australian law, then ASIO and the Australian Federal Police and other agencies will act.”
The reporters Bill Birtles and Michael Smith sought refuge in the Australian Embassy in Beijing and the consulate in Shanghai while diplomats negotiated their departure. Four days later 9-7-20 , they were cleared to leave the country. Birtles and Smith were the last reporters for Australian outlets remaining in China.
Just hours after the reporters landed in Australia, Chinese authorities announced that Cheng Lei 成蕾 , an Australian news anchor for Chinese state broadcaster CGTN , had been arrested 8-14-20 on charges of “carrying out illegal activities endangering China’s national security.”
9-24-20 China has banned entry for Clive C Hamilton and Alex Joske under country’s Exit and Entry Administration Law, after Australia revoked visa of Chinese scholars .
The new visa arrangements mean that up to 10,000 Hong Kong passport holders in Australia will be able to extend their stay for five years, at the end of which they will be granted permanent residency in Australia after passing relevant character, security and health checks. Under the new visa policy announced by the Australian Government, HKSAR passport holders holding Temporary Graduate Visas or Temporary Skilled Shortage Visas will have their visas automatically extended for five years.
Following the enactment of Hong Kong’s National Security Law, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced on July 9 that he would extend the visa period for Hong Kong residents and provide a pathway to apply for permanent residence.
According to ABC, there are currently nearly 10,000 Hong Kong citizens in Australia on temporary work visas, post-graduation temporary visas and student visas, and another 2,500 Hong Kong people outside Australia on these visas.
Researchers at the Australian National University (ANU) recently said that they had achieved “a new efficiency record” for hydrogen cells that can convert water into hydrogen simply using sunlight.
Co-author Shen Heping, who develops perovskite cells, shows a part of the cell in the lab of Australian National University (ANU) in Canberra, Australia, July 15, 2020. Researchers at the ANU recently said that they had achieved “a new efficiency record” for hydrogen cells that can convert water into hydrogen simply using sunlight.
The approach outlined in the ANU study used inexpensive semiconductor materials and resulted in a 17.6 percent solar-to-hydrogen efficiency, according to the researchers.
After Guardian Australia submitted an application under freedom of information laws for a file thought to be titled “Timeline of coronavirus outbreak and PRC coverup”, Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade confirmed it had found one document matching the request.
But Dfat decided the document was exempt from being disclosed “as its release would divulge material that was communicated in confidence by or on behalf of a foreign government or organisation” to the Australian government.
It is believed the 15-page document was authored by the US Department of State this year and distributed to officials in like-minded countries – including Australia – to spark debate about how the People’s Republic of China had handled the initial outbreak.
In a joint statement, the ministers said they discussed expanding operations in the northern Australian city of Darwin, where US Marines have been rotating in since 2012 under an initiative of former president Barack Obama.
The United States will establish a military fuel reserve in Darwin and the allies will consider exercises there with like-minded countries — a likely reference to Japan and India.
In one step that had been too far, Australia last year said it would not serve as a base for US intermediate-range missiles — widely seen as a way to target China.
Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne said Australia did not agree on everything with Beijing — or with the United States.
“The relationship that we have with China is important. And we have no intention of injuring it,” she said. “But nor do we intend to do things that are contrary to our interests.”
She said Australia and the United States had a shared interest in an Asia-Pacific region that was free, prosperous and secure and were broadly aligned on issues, including China.
“We don’t agree on everything though. And that’s part of a respectful relationship, is part of a relationship that has endured over 100 years of ‘mateship.’”
“We deal with China in the same way. We have a strong economic engagement, other engagement, and it works in the interests of both countries,” Payne said.
In a letter to the United Nations, Australia’s permanent mission rejected the Chinese Communist Party’s claim to disputed islands in the crucial trading waters, calling them “inconsistent” with international law.
“The Australian Government rejects any claims by China that are inconsistent with the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), in particular, maritime claims that do not adhere to its rules on baselines, maritime zones and classification of features,” the document states.
“There is no legal basis for China to draw straight baselines connecting the outermost points of maritime features or ‘island groups’ in the South China Sea, including around the ‘Four Sha’ or ‘continental’ or ‘outlying’ archipelagos.
Syrah Resouces, an Australian resources company, commissioned its first graphite purification plant in Louisiana, US, in mid-July. The graphite mined in Mozambique will be purified in the United States to produce anode materials for lithium electronic vehicle batteries, and will be supplied to chemical companies in the United States and Europe, among others. In addition, Australia’s Eco-Graphite plans to start operations in 2022 at a graphite purification plant in western Australia to make lithium-ion battery materials from graphite mined in Tanzania and supply to manufacturers such as Germany’s ThyssenKrupp. The company claims that its graphite purification costs are lower than those of Chinese companies, which could promote the industry to “get rid of its over-dependence on China”. At present, Chinese companies control more than 60% of the world’s natural graphite mining, in the field of graphite purification of anode materials for automotive batteries almost formed a monopoly.
Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)
The Sino-Australian relationship has become increasingly rocky in recent months. Most recently, China denied it was behind the huge cyber attack against Australian systems.
But new research from The Australia Institute argues the cause of tension is largely due to our ignorance.
In Australia, there are only 20 academics and think tanks with expertise in China, and no specialist schools for training policymakers.
Although no one knows how many people are employed in the federal government to provide advice on China, our ‘‘stupid’’ approach reveals how little we understand it, said Allan Behm, head of the International and Security Affairs Program at The Australia Institute.
“If you’ve got about 20 people who know about China, you’re a hell of a long way beyond the queue line,” Mr Behm told The New Daily.
