CSIS Pacific Partners Initiative

Australia's majority govt suffers first lower house vote loss in 5 decades: cs.is/2bXidfa

Australia’s majority government on September 2 lost a vote – the first in five decades – in three divisions in the House of Representatives in the 45th Parliament's first sitting week.

Australia's opposition, the Labor Party, had taken advantage of the premature departure of several Coalition members to win the vote on three procedural matters in Parliament. With the Coalition’s slight majority in the House slashed, Labor gained control over its debates and successfully pushed for a discussion of the party’s proposal for a banking royal commission.

Reacting to the loss, treasurer Scott Morrison decried Labor leader Bill Shorten’s exploitation of the government’s slight majority to Labor’s advantage. In response, Labor maintained its resolve to continue testing the government's majority and even taunted the ruling Coalition with the prospect of a future no-confidence motion.

[Photo: the Australian Parliament in the House of Representatives at Parliament House, Canberra. The Labor Party seized an opportunity to win a vote in three divisions in the House of Representatives against the ruling Coalition in its ongoing attempt to challenge the government's slight majority. Image courtesy of Pete Souza. Source: Wikimedia. Part of the public domain.]

Australia changes legislation to facilitate targeting of Islamic State forces.
http://cs.is/2bFQoHK

On September 1, Chief of the Defense Force Mark Binskin said that Australian legislation will be changed to be aligned more closely with international law, easing concerns that Australian Defence Force service members could be prosecuted for actions that, while legal in international law, were originally illegal under Australian law.

Australia’s domestic law currently authorizes targeting of active Islamic State fighters, limiting operational effectiveness. Once changed, the legislation will authorize defense forces to target logistics and support sites. Australia has been conducting air strikes against the Islamic State since for almost two years.

[Royal Australian Air Force F/A 18F Super Hornet, courtesy of Wikimedia user Bidgee, licensed under creative commons.]

New Zealand and Australia announce joint funding for Pacific Island countries: http://cs.is/2bugOLg

New Zealand and Australia announced that they would provide 5.8 million dollars to facilitate Pacific Island countries implementation of the Pacific Agreement on Closer Economic Relations (PACER) Plus agreement. Representatives from 16 countries met in New Zealand on August 26 to negotiate the final terms of the PACER Plus agreement. New Zealand Minister Todd McClay stated that the representatives intend to finalize the agreement by the end of October 2016.

Participating countries include: Australia, Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, New Zealand, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Republic of Marshall Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu.

[Photo: New Zealand Minister of Trade Todd McClay, courtesy of Wikimedia user Hermo48, licensed under creative commons.]

Australian defense officials warn DCNS after security leak: http://cs.is/2bM68tO

Following a 22,000 page leak detailing the Scorpène-class submarines being built for India, Australian defense officials warned DCNS that the Australian government was troubled by the implications of the leak. The leak detailed sensitive information, including information on the sensor, navigation, and weapons systems of the Scorpène India models.

Earlier this week, Australian Minister for Defence Industry Christopher Pyne was reported to have said that the leaks have "no bearing" on the Australian submarine program. In April 2016, DCNS won an $38 million dollar bid to build 12 submarines for the Australian government. DCNS claimed that the leaks showed signs of "economic warfare", implying it was carried out by competitors. Industry experts called the allegation hysterical and likely an attempt to deflect attention away from DCNS.

[Photo: Malaysian submarine Tunku Abdul Rahman at Port Klang in September 2009. The KD Tunku Abdul Rahman is a Scorpène-class submarine, similar to the ones that were exposed in the DCNS data leak for Scorpène India, image courtesy of Wikimedia user Mak Hon Keong, licensed under creative commons.]