My investigation in US magazine The Nation: Soon after President Trump assumed office in January 2017, he had a phone call with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull. The transcript of the conversation, leaked in August, revealed that the new US president admired his Australian counterpart because Turnbull was “worse than I am” on asylum seekers.…
Showing all posts tagged Australia
Public statement in support of justice for Wikileaks founder Julian Assange
The following public statement was published today after I was asked by John Pilger to write a comment in support of Julian Assange: Antony Loewenstein, a prominent… independent Australian journalist, author and documentary filmmaker, issued the following endorsement of demonstrations and vigils… demanding freedom for Julian Assange.… The Socialist Equality Party has called a rally in defense of…
ABC Radio Pacific Mornings interview on journalism, the Middle East and disaster capitalism
ABC Radio Pacific Mornings program, broadcast across the Pacific, interviewed me this morning about my work as an independent journalist over the last 15 years. From the Middle East to disaster capitalism and Australia enabling corruption in Papua New Guinea to tackling faith, it was a wide-ranging discussion: 290518 Pacific Mornings – Antony Loewnstein
ABC Radio Pacific Morning interview on Papua New Guinea and disaster capitalism
Despite being Australia’s closest neighbour, Papua New Guinea (PNG) rarely receives coverage in the media. I investigated the reality in the PNG province of Bougainville, when mining company Rio Tinto exploited the area with its polluting copper mine in the 1970s and 1980s, in my Disaster Capitalism book and film. NGO Jubilee Australia recently released…
The Wire interview on Gaza death toll and US role in the Middle East
I was interviewed by The Wire news radio program yesterday: The already fragile stability in the Middle East has been further affected in recent weeks, with the US Embassy move to Jerusalem and President Donald Trump’s withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal. Overnight 55 Palestinian protesters were killed by Israeli forces in Gaza, coinciding with…
How aid can be used to keep nations deliberately poor
I was interviewed last week in Australian media outlet Crikey by Charlie Lewis about my… Disaster Capitalism film: The documentary Disaster Capitalism opens with the earthquake in Haiti, 2010. Through the ghostly fog of CCTV video, we see the ground furiously shake buildings into dust. Fronted by Australian journalist and writer Antony Loewenstein and shot over…
Growing corruption scandal around Netanyahu and weird connection with James Packer
My story in today’s Sydney Morning Herald/Melbourne Age: Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, is in trouble, and it partly stems from his close relationship with Australia’s most recognisable billionaire, James Packer. The country’s second longest-serving Prime Minister is facing potential charges of fraud, bribery and breach of trust after an extensive investigation by Israeli police.…
ABC Radio National interview on Disaster Capitalism film
My film Disaster Capitalism, with director Thor Neureiter and co-producers Media Stockade, is screening publicly soon. Last weekend I was interviewed by Hugh Riminton on Australia’s ABC Radio National Sunday Extra program about it: When war or disaster strikes, we assume our aid contributions are life-saving, or at the very least will help rebuild countries…
The Wire interview on Trump moving US embassy to Jerusalem
US President Donald Trump’s decision to move the US embassy to Jerusalem is unsurprising and clarifying. It proves, once and for all, that Washington will only do the bidding of the Jewish state. I was interviewed on Australian news program The Wire about the move: Access and ownership of Jerusalem have been a hot issue…
Fair Australia literary prize
In the last months, I’ve been a judge on a great literary prize, Fair Australia, organised by Overland magazine: What does a fairer world look like, and how do we get there?… The Fair Australia Prize… asks writers and artists to engage with these questions and imagine a new political agenda for Australia through fiction, essays, poetry,…