Hastie

Liberal frontbencher says the country’s ‘sovereign capabilities’ have been eroded. Follow today’s news liveGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastCyber criminals have hacked into the Sri Lankan finance ministry’s computer system and siphoned off US$2.5 million, Agence France Presse reports.It is the most amount of cash ever stolen by hackers from a state institution in the debt-saddled country, which is recovering from a crippling economic crisis in 2022 after Colombo defaulted on its US$46 billion external debt.To put it bluntly, if ANZUS is going to continue for another 75 years, we need to invest in our industrial base and our defence force. Continue reading...

Liberal MP makes first public comments since Australia’s most decorated living soldier, whom he served alongside, was charged with war crimes The Liberal MP, Andrew Hastie, says Ben Roberts-Smith is entitled to the presumption of innocence but “none of us are above the law” in his first public comments since Australia’s most decorated living soldier was charged with war crimes.Hastie served alongside Roberts-Smith in Afghanistan and was among the 21 Special Air Service (SAS) who gave evidence in the defamation case he brought against the Nine newspapers. Continue reading...

The split comes as some MPs raise the prospect of a new conversation about the party’s leadershipFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAngus Taylor has shut down Andrew Hastie’s push for the Liberals to be “open-minded” to increasing taxes on gas companies and winding back concessions for property investors, exposing a clash of philosophies between the opposition leader and his most likely future rival.The opposition leader also did not repeat Hastie’s criticism of Donald Trump as he refused to say whether or not he endorsed the US and Israel’s war with Iran. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Speaking with the Australian Politics podcast, the Liberal frontbencher says a sovereign wealth fund would set Australians up for generations to comeFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastLiberal frontbencher Andrew Hastie says he is open to a new 25% tax on soaring gas profits as part of a Scandinavian-style sovereign wealth fund to strengthen the federal budget amid the global energy crisis.Budget leaks suggest the Albanese government is modelling the effects of placing a flat 25% tax on gas profits, as well as possible further changes to the petroleum resource rent tax (PRRT) and corporate income tax. Continue reading...