Gold and miners: watch the internal structure #Gold around $4,116 with the dollar weaker and the 30-year yield lower is not behaving like a simple safe-haven trade. After last week's sharp gold-miner liquidation and rebound, we are watching whether $GDX and $NEM can outperform bullion even while spot gold consolidates. I wouldn't assume falling nominal yields alone are enough to confirm that setup.

Turkey has formally submitted its Saudi-Pakistani mutual-defence agreement for parliamentary ratification, extending the regional defensive mobilisation. Via Reuters

It's easy to feel paranoid in today's political climate. But just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they're NOT out to get you. More twists and turns than the plot of a Hollywood movie. We're living in a parallel universe, I swear.

Israel has joined the Pacific Islands Forum, the region's principal political organisation, as a partner. rnz.co.nz/news/pacific/20485…

MATERIAL WAR DEVELOPMENT — Britain commits RAF Typhoon fighter jets to Saudi defence The UK has announced a significant expansion of its military involvement against Iran-backed Houthi attacks, while the confirmed death toll from Monday's missile strike in Yemen has increased. Britain will also provide an A400M transport aircraft and military advisers, extending its existing aerial-refuelling assistance. The operational distinction: British pilots may now directly intercept Houthi missiles and drones. UK explicitly ruled out offensive strikes against Houthi targets.

The UK government gave its approval for drilling to begin in the Jackdaw #gas field in the North Sea on Wednesday following years of legal and political problems that had blocked the controversial fossil fuel venture. dw.com/en/uk-approves-jackda…

5/12 — SNOWY HYDRO SAYS IT CAN SEE EVERY COST. SO WHY IS THE PUBLIC LAST TO KNOW? Snowy Hydro and its contractor agree on one thing. The owner could see the costs. The contractor tells Parliament the 2023 reset gave Snowy Hydro "full visibility of project performance, costs and risks". Snowy Hydro's own submission says it has "full access to the contractor's costs". Under the equity agreement behind the Commonwealth's $2.6 billion, it is meant to report "the projected cost to Project Completion" to government every month, according to the wording published by former senator Rex Patrick. Snowy Hydro also reimburses the contractor's labour costs. The Auditor-General found it set no guardrails on what the new pay agreement would cost. So it was paying a bill it hadn't capped, with the figures in front of it. In August the Energy Minister said he hadn't received the reassessment. The monthly report is a different document, but it is supposed to carry a projected cost to completion. So here is what Parliament should ask. What did those monthly reports say, and when? Snowy Hydro's own action plan answers part of it. One item reads "Document the monthly cost outcome reporting process and escalation pathways", and the plan lists it as still in progress. The monthly figure government gets comes from a process Snowy Hydro says isn't documented yet. Snowy Hydro says releasing a number early could weaken its hand with the contractor. That's a fair concern. It doesn't explain why the owner with full visibility is the last to say what it sees. But there's more… Cold Hard Facts. Corrected when wrong. No misinformation. What's your thoughts…? Peter Lyndon-James 🇦🇺 Sources: FGJV Submission 3 (para 70) and Snowy Hydro Submission 4 (pp.13, Appendix 1, Rec 4) to the JCPAA; Auditor-General Report No.39 (paras 2.84-2.86); Rex Patrick, Michael West Media, 8 May 2026.

HE WAS THE INVESTORS' VOICE. NOW HE CHAIRS THE STATE'S POWER COMPANY. HE ALSO SITS ON A LABOR MONEY BOARD. A reader sent me a November 2020 page from Project Finance International, the bankers' trade magazine. It quotes the chair of the Clean Energy Investor Group welcoming the New South Wales renewables plan as "a welcome plan for private sector investors", and promising to help design the "financial instruments". That chair was Simon Corbell, a former ACT Labor deputy chief minister. His record, from public documents: In December 2016 the Andrews Labor government made him Victoria's first Renewable Energy Advocate, advising government and drawing investment into renewables. He stepped down in February 2019. On 1 July 2020 he became a director of the 1973 Foundation, registered at ACT Labor's office and listed with the AEC as ACT Labor's associated entity. ASIC still listed him in May 2026. In September 2020 he became chair of the Clean Energy Investor Group, and later ran it as CEO. In 2021 he said its 17 members held about half the operating clean energy generation in the national market. His words: "the voice of capital". In April 2024 SEC Minister Lily D'Ambrosio appointed him chair of the revived State Electricity Commission. He still chairs it. The SEC puts public money into energy projects alongside private investors. Its first was $245 million into the Melbourne Renewable Energy Hub with Equis. In September it committed up to $43 million to a battery near Wodonga with Aware Super and developer Birdwood. Meanwhile the Labor company on his CV paid ACT Labor $1,728,822 in 2024-25, its biggest year on the AEC record, after $7.2 million in investment sale proceeds the year before. It paid $750,000 in 2023-24 too, and ACT Labor paid $750,000 back the next year as a loan repayment. To be fair, none of this is unlawful. He's genuinely expert, which is why governments hire him. The SEC has a board conflict of interest policy. I found no SEC deal with a member of his old lobby group and I'm not suggesting one. A Canberra party company has nothing to do with Victorian contracts. But follow the path. He went from advising a Labor government on attracting investors, to being paid to speak for those investors, to chairing the government company that invests alongside them, and sat on the board of a Labor party money company through most of it. Same standard for the Liberals. Former Victorian treasurer Alan Stockdale and former senator Richard Alston were directors of Vapold, the Liberals' property company, in 2023-24. The minister who appointed him, Lily D'Ambrosio, leaves politics at this election. Cold Hard Facts. Corrected when wrong. No misinformation. What's your thoughts…? Peter Lyndon-James 🇦🇺 Sources: PFI, 18 Nov 2020. Vic Premier releases, 9 Dec 2016, 8 Feb 2019, 30 Jul 2026. ASIC, 1973 Foundation. AEC Transparency Register. RenewEconomy, 3 Sep 2020, 16 Nov 2021. SEC Victoria governance page. Energy-Storage.News, 17 Sep 2026.

The Australian Defence Force (ADF) will open applications for Papua New Guinean university students on November 16, 2026. Under a $65 million pilot program, up to 100 recruits will join across two cohorts over two years, with the first members sworn in by late 2027. (ABC News)

Independent Senator David Pocock has called for a united force of community independents to challenge Labor and the Coalition at the 2028 federal election, saying voters deserve an alternative to the major parties. ABC24 Absolutely! Me

China built more than twice the naval tonnage of the U.S. in the 2024-25 period, narrowing the gap between the two countries’ navies, a new report says. defensenews.com/naval/2026/1…

ASIC is investigating the Sydney company that authorised the alleged scammers to have a financial services licence, but the firm denies due diligence failures. ABC News

The EU on Tuesday presented a new Arctic Strategy that outlines the bloc's priorities in the key region amid challenges such as security threats, climate change and mining. The EU unveiled its priorities in the Arctic as it vies with Russia, China and the US for influence. EU foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas said drone incursions, GPS jamming and cable sabotage undermine Arctic security. dw.com/en/new-eu-plan-for-ar…

An Israeli tech company hijacking online ads to track millions of devices and open the door to zero-click spyware is something we should be deeply concerned about. We need an urgent review of all surveillance companies operating here, the risks they pose to privacy and public data, and to amend laws including Digital Duty of Care to cover these ads. (Senator David Shoebridge)

There should be a media black out with respect to her ongoing condition and her alleged attacker. it is macabre reporting, her poor family & staff. @AlboMP @VictorianLabor