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The Prime Minister Anthony Albanese today officially opened Exercise Pitch Black 2026 in Darwin, Australia’s premier international air combat exercise.

Over the next three weeks, 100 aircraft and around 2,500 personnel from the Royal Australian Air Force and 20 other nations will take part in training activities and exercises in the skies over Australia’s north.

The biennial exercise is an opportunity to strengthen relationships among our partners and allies by building interoperability through realistic, high-end training from RAAF Bases Darwin and Tindal in the Northern Territory, and RAAF Base Amberley in Queensland.

Aircraft from the United States, Japan, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, Republic of Korea, India, Singapore, Germany, France and Spain as well as embedded personnel from the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Fiji, Canada, Brunei, Malaysia, Finland and Sweden will all take part in this year’s exercise. 

By working together with our partners we are able to develop the capability of the Royal Australian Air Force, strengthen our nation’s security and help keep Australians safe.

The community in Darwin and right across the north also play such an important role in the success of Pitch Black, which can only happen with their support.

Locals will have a chance to see first-hand what Pitch Black is all about at the upcoming Mindil Beach Flying Display later this week, and at the RAAF Base Darwin open day on 1 August.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese:

“Australia is strongest when we work closely with our partners.

“Exercise Pitch Black strengthens those partnerships and demonstrates Australia’s commitment to working closely across our region to support peace, stability and security.

“I’m proud to officially open Exercise Pitch Black here in Darwin where it has been hosted for more than 40 years. It’s another reminder of the important role the Territory plays in Australia’s defence and our engagement with the region.

“I thank all of the Australian Defence Force men and women, our international partners and the people of the Northern Territory for helping make this year’s exercise such a success.”

Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles:

“Exercise Pitch Black is one of the most complex and significant air exercises which occurs in the Indo-Pacific and this year’s iteration is once again one of the largest in its 45 year history. 

“Through this exercise, our Air Force is showcasing Australia’s ability to bring together partners from the region and beyond to enhance interoperability and deepen defence cooperation.

“My thanks go out to all of the personnel and importantly the local communities across the Northern Territory and Darwin who make this possible.”

Special Envoy for Defence, Veterans Affairs and Northern Australia, Luke Gosling:

“Territorians understand the important role our home plays in Australia’s defence, and Exercise Pitch Black puts Darwin at the centre of one of the world’s most significant air combat exercises.

“We’re proud to welcome around 2,500 personnel from 20 nations to the Territory to train alongside the Royal Australian Air Force and build the relationships that help keep our region secure.

“Pitch Black also brings a real energy to Darwin, and I encourage locals to get down to the Mindil Beach Flying Display and RAAF Base Darwin open day to see some of the world’s most advanced aircraft up close.”

The Australian Government is announcing new support for recovery in Gaza and to strengthen the institutional foundations of the State of Palestine.

The package combines much-needed humanitarian assistance with support for reforms to governance, public institutions, and economic development, as part of coordinated international efforts to advance a two-state solution.

Working with likeminded partners and building on Australia’s recognition of the State of Palestine in September 2025, this package supports Palestinian-led efforts to strengthen public institutions, improve economic management and advance democratic governance, helping to build a stronger and more effective Palestinian Authority capable of responding to the needs of its people. 

Targeted funding for early recovery and reforms includes $15 million to the UN Horizon Fund. The Horizon Fund brings UN agencies together to rehabilitate essential infrastructure, including water and sanitation, health, education, and housing, as well as debris clearance and explosive ordnance risk reduction.

Australia’s contribution complements more than $80 million pledged to the Horizon Fund by France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom, reflecting a shared commitment to Gaza’s recovery and the long-term conditions necessary for durable peace.

The package also includes $10 million to the World Bank’s Palestinian Fund for Reconstruction and Development (PFRD) to strengthen the Palestinian Authority’s public financial management. The PFRD is supported by Japan, the United Kingdom, Canada, France, Sweden, Switzerland, and Iceland.

Strong, accountable and effective Palestinian institutions will be critical to future recovery efforts, regional stability and long-term prospects for peace. We will continue to work with partners to hold the Palestinian Authority to commitments it has made to Australia and the international community which include to reform governance, terminate prisoner payments, institute schooling reform, demilitarise and hold general elections.

Hamas continues to damage the prospects of a two-state solution and reject Israel’s right to exist. Australia remains unequivocal in its condemnation of Hamas, including for its atrocities on 7 October 2023 and its ongoing acts of terror. The Australian Government reaffirms that Hamas must disarm and play no role in the State of Palestine.

By supporting effective civilian governance and public administration, Australia is helping address the conditions that allow terrorism and extremism to take hold, while strengthening the institutions needed for long-term stability.

Funding will be delivered through trusted international partners with robust oversight, accountability, and safeguards to ensure Australian assistance is used for its intended purpose.  

Foreign Minister Penny Wong:

“This package demonstrates Australia’s practical commitment to Palestinian recovery, reform and institution-building. Hamas can play no role in the State of Palestine.

“A lasting peace requires legitimate governance, economic opportunity and security for both Palestinians and Israelis.

“Australia will continue to work closely with international partners to help create those conditions.”

Minister for International Development Dr Anne Aly:

“The humanitarian needs of Palestinians remain immense, and communities will require sustained support to recover and rebuild. This funding package will complement our existing humanitarian assistance.

“This investment will help strengthen institutions, advance reform efforts and support communities as they work towards recovery and resilience.

“Australia’s development assistance delivers practical outcomes for vulnerable people while supporting the governance and institutional reforms needed for long-term stability and prosperity.”

The Victorian Greens say that Labor has rolled out the red carpet for big tech companies, approving a boom in hyperscale AI data centres without adequate protections for local communities, cultural heritage, the environment or Victoria’s renewable energy transition.

It comes after reports the Allan Labor Government is considering fast-tracking two more mega-projects in Truganina and Mickleham in Melbourne’s outer suburbs, via the government’s Development Facilitation Program.

AI data centres consume enormous amounts of electricity and water, can require fossil fuels backup generation and place significant pressure on local infrastructure while only creating a handful of ongoing jobs.

The Victorian Greens are calling for a moratorium on all new data centres until mandatory standards are in place to protect communities, the environment and the state’s energy supply.

the Leader of the Victorian Greens, Ellen Sandell:

“AI is the new extractive industry and if Labor keeps giving big tech corporations like Meta, Amazon and Palantir special treatment without the right rules in place, they’re going to take our resources and leave Victorians with very little to show for it. It’s the great big gas rip off 2.0.

“It’s our communities that suffer with more trucks, air pollution, risks to drinking water and more expensive energy bills because we haven’t planned for how to feed these energy hungry data centres – keeping Victoria hooked on coal and gas.”

The Victorian Greens warn Jacinta Allan’s Labor Government not to further capitulate to vested interests and instead invest in countering gas lobby propaganda. It follows the release of gas industry-funded polling on Victoria’s transition away from gas today.

The poll, commissioned by the Australian Energy Producers, comes amid an expensive, coordinated campaign by the gas industry to protect its profits, including sponsorship deals, advertising campaigns and lobbying designed to slow the transition to cheaper, cleaner renewable energy.

The Greens are calling on the Victorian Labor Government to counter the millions being spent by the gas lobby and invest in a mass public communication focused on the benefits of switching to cheap, clean electrical projects.

The Greens said Victorians are being hit by rising energy bills because governments have failed to invest fast enough in renewable energy and home electrification, while fossil gas companies continue to profit.

The party says that the Australian Gas Network is spending millions in attempting to ‘greenwash’ fossil gas – including by sponsoring Masterchef Australia – because it’s afraid of people switching to cheaper, cleaner electric products.

Since becoming Premier, Jacinta Allan has already walked back Victoria’s commitments to phase out gas and approved the first new gas drilling projects in over a decade.

the Leader of the Victorian Greens, Ellen Sandell:

“We know Labor will say or do whatever it thinks will keep it in power, but it must not take its cues from polls funded by the fossil gas corporations profiting from keeping Victorians hooked on fossil fuels.”

“The fossil fuel industry is spending millions of dollars plastering its logo across MasterChef, flooding our screens with advertising and even trying to influence what children learn in schools – all so they can keep selling our gas while paying next to no tax.”

“What Victorians actually want is lower power bills and hope for the future. That doesn’t happen from caving to big polluters, it happens by investing in cheaper renewable energy, helping households electrify their homes and making big polluters pay for it.”

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has serious questions to answer following fresh allegations of corruption and improper government intervention on Victorian Big Build projects.

On ABC’s 7.30 on 30 June, the Prime Minister was asked whether he had sought assurances from Premier Jacinta Allan that Commonwealth funding would not end up in the hands of organised crime. His response was unequivocal: “Well, of course.”

Just two weeks later, The Age today has published fresh allegations from a former senior Victorian Health Building Authority executive alleging government intervention on behalf of the CFMEU on a Commonwealth-funded hospital redevelopment, alongside further reporting of alleged corruption and criminal influence across Victorian Big Build projects.

These allegations raise serious questions about the assurances the Prime Minister claims he received from the Victorian Government.

Australians deserve to know what assurances the Prime Minister received, whether he still stands by them, and whether he remains confident that Commonwealth taxpayer funds have been properly protected.

The Prime Minister cannot simply rely on assurances while serious allegations continue to emerge. He owes Australians an explanation.

The Albanese Government should stop hiding behind assurances and heed the calls of almost 50,000 Australians who have signed Senator Maria Kovacic’s petition for a Senate inquiry into CFMEU and construction sector corruption. The Coalition stands ready to support such an inquiry when the Parliament next meets.