Australia news LIVE: Dutton pushes back on special adviser appointment to Israel ; Trump will see AUKUS deal as ‘win-win’

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Defence Minister Richard Marles will speak in Canberra shortly.

Watch the press conference below:

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has announced Vice Chief of the Defence Force Vice Admiral David Johnston will be appointed as the new Chief of the Defence Force.

Johnston will take over the role in July, taking over from General Angus Campbell.

“Vice Admiral Johnston is a proven leader with the experience, intellect and resolve to lead the ADF in a complex and rapidly changing global strategic environment,” Albanese said.

He joined the ADF in 1978 and demonstrated “outstanding leadership”.

More to come.

Earlier, the Coalition’s foreign affairs spokesman Simon Birmingham says Japan would be a “perfect partner” in the second stage of the AUKUS security pact.

The second pillar of AUKUS is focused on delivering advanced capabilities and sharing technologies across a range of areas including quantum computing, undersea, hypersonic, artificial intelligence and cyber technology.

Speaking on Sky News earlier, Birmingham said it was a “perfect sphere” to partner in.

“And Japan is a perfect partner to seek to have. The strategic alignment between Japan, Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom, is incredibly strong,” he said.

“From an Australian perspective, the regional challenges that we share and face and have a very common perspective on, is also very strong. So that provides a real underpinning … for looking at a technologically sophisticated [and] advanced country like Japan to play a partnership role.”

Asked if it meant Japan would get its own letter in AUKUS, Birmingham said: “We can certainly say there will be a JAUKUS part to some parts of AUKUS and that will be welcome”.

But he said the first pillar was a clear agreement between the original three nations.

“I think the nuclear-powered submarine capability in pillar one is a clear-cut tri-nation undertaking. It is a huge task as it is. That is where the focus needs to be first and foremost,” he said.

Australia hasn’t got full accountability and transparency from Israel in its investigation into the death of aid workers in Gaza, Defence Industry minister Pat Conroy says.

He was asked about the assurances that Australia has gotten from Israel, after the government appointed former Air Chief Marshal Mark Binskin as a special adviser to review Israel’s probe into last week’s drone attack that led to the death of Australian Zomi Frankcom.

“I think we would hope and expect that the Israeli government will support the engagement of Air Chief Marshall … Mark Binskin,” Conroy said this morning.

“[Binskin] is there to provide advice to our government on what further representations and actions that we should be taking to ensure that there’s a full and transparent investigation into what occurred.”

Conroy said it was what the Australian people would expect of the government.

“We would hope that Israel would engage in that process.

“We’ve made it very clear that we expect full accountability and transparency in an investigation, and we haven’t got that yet, and Mark Binskin will do a fine job I’m sure of pursuing this.”

The defence industry minister, who is in the US, has been questioned about whether the nuclear-powered submarines were still on schedule to be delivered.

The questions come after a new internal US Navy investigation found construction delays for the Virginia-class submarines of up to three years.

“Nothing’s changed from what our common understanding is,” Pat Conroy told ABC Radio National this morning.

He said the US and UK were all committed to the timetables involved.

“[We’re] the lead up to Australia acquiring our own, very advanced Virginia class submarines in the early 2030s and on the way to us building the most advanced submarines in the world in nearly 2040s. This is all on track, and we’re building steady momentum towards that,” he said.

Turning now to Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy, who is speaking about Japan joining the second pillar of the AUKUS agreement.

As we reported earlier, Britain, the US and Australia released a joint statement overnight which said they were considering co-operation with Japan on the second pillar of AUKUS.

“We’ve been very clear in the last two years since we announced AUKUS that we are open to partnering with other nations on specific projects,” Conroy told RN Breakfast this morning.

He said Australia was always interested in partnering with other countries where it benefits AUKUS partners and the other country in question.

The minister said there was a strong foundation of trust and cooperation with Japan, and it was also on the forefront of defence technology.

“There’s a strong foundation of trust and cooperation and Japan is the forefront of developing cutting-edge defence capabilities. It’s got one of the most advanced economies in the world, so it is a logical company country for us to partner with,” he said.

He said any partnership would be about collaborating on technology under Pillar II of AUKUS, and it would be on a project by project basis.

“This is not about Japan joining AUKUS, it’s not about Japan being part of the Five Eyes intelligence community, it’s about technological collaboration where it makes sense for all parties involves.”

Australia, Britain, and the US say they are considering working with Japan through their AUKUS security pact, as the US President is set to meet with Japanese prime minister.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will meet US President Joe Biden at a summit this week, and the pair are expected to address Japan’s possible future in AUKUS “advanced capabilities” projects.

Britain, the US and Australia released a joint statement overnight which said they were considering cooperation with Japan.

“Recognising Japan’s strengths and its close bilateral defence partnerships with all three countries, we are considering cooperation with Japan on AUKUS Pillar II advanced capability projects,” the government’s said.

The second pillar is focused on delivering advanced capabilities and sharing technologies across a range of areas including quantum computing, undersea, hypersonic, artificial intelligence and cyber technology.

It said AUKUS members had long been clear on their intent to involve other countries in Pillar II, and that it would consider factors such as:

“Technological innovation, financing, industrial strengths, ability to adequately protect sensitive data and information, and impact on promoting peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region.”

AUKUS, formed by the three countries in 2021, is part of efforts to push back against China’s growing influence.

Its first stage, or “pillar,” is designed to deliver nuclear-powered attack submarines to Australia. The statement did not propose Japan would be involved in this part of the pact.

China has called the AUKUS pact dangerous and warned it could spur a regional arms race.

Reuters

Independent MP Monique Ryan has also spoken about the review into supermarkets, saying she favoured appropriate protections for consumers, retailers and suppliers.

An interim review of the Food and Grocery Code of Conduct has the country’s big four supermarket retailers and wholesalers – Woolworths, Coles, Aldi and Metcash, which supplies IGA – squarely in its sights with a series of recommendations designed to deliver cheaper prices for consumers and fairer prices at the farm gate.

It recommended making the code mandatory, and force those who breach it could face huge fines.

Woolworths supports making the code compulsory but believes more retailers – such as Amazon and Costco – should be subject to its terms.

This is what Ryan told Nine’s Today program:

I’m all in favour of appropriate protections for consumers and for retailers and suppliers in different industries.

But I think it’s a bit dishonest, perhaps with Woolworths and Coles to bring in all the other major retailers into Australia, into an inquiry, which is specifically about them.

I would say, though, that it would appear that Peter Dutton and the Nationals really have it in for the supermarkets … We’ve seen them go after the supermarkets on lots of occasions, and the concern about divestiture powers is that they will result potentially in the closure of supermarkets.

And if we see supermarkets closing in rural towns, there will be a loss of competition.

There will be a loss of choice that will result in an increase in prices and loss of jobs in country centres. And that’s the last thing that Australians need to see.”

Turning to news about an interim review into Australia’s supermarket code of conduct, which recommended guidelines be made compulsory for major chains, and they could face fines that run into the billions if they fail to comply.

Grocery giant Woolworths believes global retail behemoths Amazon and Costco should be subjected to the supermarket code of conduct alongside other large Australian companies.

Nationals senator Bridget McKenzie has spoken about the interim report on Nine’s Today program.

“We don’t think it goes far enough. We’ve been calling for a mandatory code into supermarkets for a very long time,” she said.

“Obviously, our suppliers, as small businesses and particularly, our primary producers, need a better deal and some security when dealing with the big supermarkets.

“But I do think that Woolworths has a point in terms of who is captured by this. We’ve got large multinationals in the supermarket ring who aren’t captured. So I’d like to see this expanded over time,” she said.

While Woolworths is already a signatory to the voluntary code and supports making it compulsory, the company believes more retailers should be subject to its terms.

“The code should apply to all major retailers operating in Australia, including global retail giants such as Amazon and Costco, who have global revenues many times the size of Australian supermarkets,” a Woolworths spokesperson said.

with AAP

Back in Australia, Coalition leader Peter Dutton chastised Labor after the prime minister tasked a top air force figure with testing the veracity of Israel’s claims about the death of an Australian aid worker in Gaza.

In a muscular move not mirrored by other nations whose citizens were killed, Australia announced it would push for a special adviser, former Air Chief Marshal Mark Binskin, to review the probe into last week’s drone attack that led to the death of Australian Zomi Frankcom.

But Dutton claimed the challenge to Israel’s investigations into Frankcom’s death was designed to appease pro-Palestinian Labor MPs and pointing out Israel had taken responsibility for the incident that continued to provoke intense international condemnation.

Here’s more on the issue.