Australia

Archived

Something interesting is happening in how Australians think about their own country’s influence in the Pacific. According to the Lowy Institute’s 2025 poll, 39 per cent of Australians now see Australia as the most influential power in the Pacific Islands, a notable increase from last year’s result of 31 per cent.

Australia has overtaken China, previously seen by Australians as the dominant player, which holds steady at 34 per cent.

These figures suggest a shifting perception domestically, perhaps reflecting Canberra’s energetic “listening” diplomacy, through which Australia has ramped up diplomatic effort and significantly increased financial assistance to the Pacific over the past three years. Canberra’s approach of marrying generous aid packages with not-so-subtle diplomatic leverage on security matters appears to have resonated at home.

[...]

While Australia is undeniably the largest aid donor in the region, and uniquely maintains a diplomatic presence in every PIF member state, Beijing’s bare-faced influence-building is plain as day.

The China-Pacific Island countries Foreign Ministers’ meeting last month foreshadowed increased Chinese presence in security and policing, development, and stronger economic ties with those Pacific countries that recognise China over Taiwan. Beijing’s blend of visa-waivers, economic incentives, infrastructure financing, and diplomatic duchessing, ensures its presence is both felt and appreciated across island capitals.

In 2024, China registered 26 Coastguard vessels with the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission, signalling a more assertive regional maritime presence. It is not clear how China intends to deploy its more than two-dozen vessels, but if the dynamics in the South China Sea are any indication, it will likely result in Chinese vessels harassing other countries, while protecting its own fishing fleet – widely understood as often responsible for illegal fishing in the Pacific Ocean.

[...]

To Canberra’s chagrin, plenty of Pacific countries are evidently happy to buy what China is selling, even while some countries including PNG and Fiji are aligning more closely to Australia’s worldview.

Therein lies the rub: while perceptions do matter, it is Pacific countries’ own strategic choices that will ultimately be the deciding factor in who has influence and how the regional balance of power is shaped for decades to come.

Archived

Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles has refused to say if Chinese warships were “targeting our cities” when they carried out exercises off Australia’s vast coast earlier this year.

The Australian Defence Force revealed in February it was tracking two People’s Liberation Army-Navy (PLA-N) frigates and a replenishment vessel in the Coral Sea, off Queensland.

They passed within 150 nautical miles (278km) east of Sydney as they moved south and conducted live-fire drills in the Tasman Sea without notifying Canberra or air traffic controllers.

The Albanese government has kept tight-lipped on what the Chinese flotilla’s mission was, even amid fears AUKUS could be on the rocks, Australia trailing its allies in defence spending and warnings Beijing poses an “imminent” threat to the region.

[...]

Ms Robinson said the laptop was an 18-month old AppleMac Pro and it had started to lose charge more often in the lead up to the fire.

"It seemed to be going flat a lot, which can identify a faulty battery," Ms Robinson.

Fire Rescue Victoria commander Craig Houlahan attended the blaze.

"It was clear the fire had actually started from the bed," he said.

"It was quite obvious with the development of the fire that it was the laptop, because of the battery."

Protest to get Brisbane City Council to reallocate one lane of the Story Bridge as a pedestrian & cyclist shared path, while the dedicated paths are closed indefinitely for maintenance.

14/06/2025

https://pixelfed.au/p/jimcullen/839831452379512546

@australia

Does anyone want to help run the aussie flag on canvas this year (starting July 12th)? I have limted time right now and this year we are going to add aussie pixel art to the flag.

For people who want to make pixel art

Feel free to make or find some aussie pixel art and reply, note that the whole flag is 200x100 and the union jack and stars take up a lot of space so it shouldn't be massive.

Help wanted with adding the art to the flag

If someone could work on taking the art below and in the replies and placing them on the flag that would be great. If you want to, reply below so we don't duplicate work and have multiple people doing it. Ensure that the pixel art does not cover the stars or union jack.

Here is the base image for the flag: which is 200x100 pixels.

Resources

Here is last years template if you want to see it. I will make a new template this year with the pixel art and flag at 200px by 100px.

Current pixel art

Bluey and bingo pixel art: https://aussie.zone/post/11696592/10403326 and https://diycandy.com/bluey-perler-beads/ (see happy bluey and happy bingo)