Australia news live: Commonwealth summit begins in Samoa with UK playing down reparations issue
Commonwealth summit to begin in Samoa
Although the Commonwealth summit has been branded a talkfest, it will focus on networking and alliance building over concrete policies – despite Pacific nations susceptible to climate change continuing to push leaders to phase out fossil fuels.
As AAP reports, the meetings “aren’t transformational” but the Pacific would be looking to build on connections to other regions and draw attention to the existential threat of rising sea levels, Pacific expert Meg Keen said.
That’s not trivial, there’s 56 countries – about a third of the world’s population – there are not only leaders, there are key decision makers and, of course, there’s media.
Pacific nations would be looking to raise concerns before the COP environment conference in November and gather support for an International Court of Justice case on obligations states regarding climate change, she said.
Prof Jioji Ravulo, who specialises in Pacific communities, also framed climate as the main issue but said it was important Australia used its diplomatic clout to elevation regional voices. Issues of gender equality, poverty and economic development “all come back to a common denominator, which is climate change”, he said.
Anthony Albanese said Australia “values the significant role Samoa plays in our region and the close partnership between our two countries” as he makes his first trip to the Pacific nation as leader.
While Canberra had a pivotal role in these conversations as a major regional voice, it should not use its weight to impose on Pacific partners and only operate “within the terms of what Australia wants”, Ravulo said.
“It’s not a shared relationship, it’s one where Australia continues to create expectations,” he said, pointing to reports an NRL team agreement with Papua New Guinea would preclude Chinese security forces in the Pacific nation.
Samoan leader Fiamē Naomi Mata’afa is calling for an ocean declaration that would focus on governance of the seas and the impacts rising sea levels and temperatures have on coastal communities and livelihoods, Keen said.
Poorer nations will be looking for larger partners to help economically and Australia is the primary maritime partner for most of the region, she said.
Key events
Josh Taylor
Children able to report nude images sent via iMessage to Apple, which could report to police
Children will be able to report nude images and video being sent to them via iMessage direct to Apple, which could then report the matter to police, under changes coming to iOS in Australia.
As part of the beta releases for iOS and iPadOS 18.2 and MacOS 15.2 for Australian users released today, users will now have the ability to report images or video containing nudity to Apple. It is an extension of its existing communications safety features that since iOS 17 have been turned on by default for Apple users under 13, but are available to all users.
Under the changes, when a warning about a nude image comes up, users will also have the option to report to Apple.
The device will prepare a report containing the images or videos, as well as messages sent immediately before and after the image or video. It will include the contact information from both accounts, and users can fill out a form describing what happened.
The report will be reviewed by Apple, which can take action on an account – such as disabling that user’s ability to send messages over iMessage – and also report the issue to law enforcement.
The timing of the announcement as well as picking Australia as the first to get the new feature coincides with new codes coming into force in Australia by the end of 2024 forcing tech companies to detect child abuse and terror content on cloud and messaging services.
Good morning
Emily Wind
Happy Thursday, and welcome back to the Australia news live blog – thanks to Martin for getting things started for us. I’m Emily Wind, and I’ll take you through our live coverage for most of today.
As always, you can reach out with any tips or questions via X, @emilywindwrites, or you can send me an email: emily.wind@theguardian.com.
Let’s go.
More on the Commonwealth heads of government meeting in Samoa
We have another story on the summit from our colleagues in the UK where the prime minister, Keir Starmer, has insisted he wants to “look forward” rather than have “very long endless discussions about reparations on the past”.
He has been under pressure to discuss reparatory justice with Commonwealth countries as he gathers with other leaders for his first summit.
Here’s our full story:
Commonwealth summit to begin in Samoa
Although the Commonwealth summit has been branded a talkfest, it will focus on networking and alliance building over concrete policies – despite Pacific nations susceptible to climate change continuing to push leaders to phase out fossil fuels.
As AAP reports, the meetings “aren’t transformational” but the Pacific would be looking to build on connections to other regions and draw attention to the existential threat of rising sea levels, Pacific expert Meg Keen said.
That’s not trivial, there’s 56 countries – about a third of the world’s population – there are not only leaders, there are key decision makers and, of course, there’s media.
Pacific nations would be looking to raise concerns before the COP environment conference in November and gather support for an International Court of Justice case on obligations states regarding climate change, she said.
Prof Jioji Ravulo, who specialises in Pacific communities, also framed climate as the main issue but said it was important Australia used its diplomatic clout to elevation regional voices. Issues of gender equality, poverty and economic development “all come back to a common denominator, which is climate change”, he said.
Anthony Albanese said Australia “values the significant role Samoa plays in our region and the close partnership between our two countries” as he makes his first trip to the Pacific nation as leader.
While Canberra had a pivotal role in these conversations as a major regional voice, it should not use its weight to impose on Pacific partners and only operate “within the terms of what Australia wants”, Ravulo said.
“It’s not a shared relationship, it’s one where Australia continues to create expectations,” he said, pointing to reports an NRL team agreement with Papua New Guinea would preclude Chinese security forces in the Pacific nation.
Samoan leader Fiamē Naomi Mata’afa is calling for an ocean declaration that would focus on governance of the seas and the impacts rising sea levels and temperatures have on coastal communities and livelihoods, Keen said.
Poorer nations will be looking for larger partners to help economically and Australia is the primary maritime partner for most of the region, she said.
Welcome
Good morning and welcome to our live news coverage. I’m Martin Farrer with some of our top overnight stories before my colleague Emily Wind takes over.
Could foreign leaders really be put off from visiting Australia because of Lidia Thorpe’s verbal assault on the king? Liberal senators think so and have suggested imposing penalties for overstepping the mark. The opposition Senate leader has flagged the possibility of new penalties for senators who engage in “disorderly conduct” beyond the chamber itself, after independent senator Lidia Thorpe’s shouted protest at a parliamentary reception for King Charles III and Queen Camilla.
Abortion continues to be a key issue in the Queensland election with the Greens promising today to introduce a bill banning the state government from any new deals to outsource public hospitals to organisations that refuse to provide abortions. Guardian Australia reported last year on concerns that Catholic-run public hospitals would not provide reproductive care. The Greens’ move comes after senior Coalition women rejected Jacinta Nampijinpa Price’s comments about abortion, saying the Liberal party had “no interest in unwinding women’s reproductive rights” and saying it was an issue advanced by “fringe” politicians.
Commonwealth leaders will meet in Samoa from today with the environment, ocean health and economic development on the cards – but the UK prime minister, Keir Starmer, says he doesn’t want to have “endless discussions” about reparations. Anthony Albanese will be attending the Commonwealth heads of government meeting (Chogm) along with King Charles and other leaders from the group of former British colonies. We’ll have more on the summit as it gets into gear.
