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Top Stories
*Greg Combet to retire from politics*
*Rudd to discuss asylum issue with Indonesia*
*Fears Australians caught up in outlawed terrorist group*
*Obama arrives in South Africa as Mandela's condition improves*
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*Greg Combet to retire from politics*
Former federal Labor frontbencher Greg Combet has announced he is quitting politics for personal reasons.
Mr Combet quit the frontbench last week after the Labor Party voted to remove Julia Gillard as prime minister and reinstate Kevin Rudd.
He will retire from politics at the upcoming election, but says his reasons are personal and have nothing to do with the Labor leadership change.
But he says the spill provided a catalyst for the decision.
In a statement released late today, Mr Combet says he had decided not to recontest the NSW seat of Charlton after a long period of consideration, and discussions with family, friends, colleagues and local Labor supporters.
"It is a matter that I had discussed over a period of months with the former prime minister Julia Gillard," he said.
"My reasons are personal and are not attributable to the change in the leadership of the Labor party this week, although this has provided a catalyst for my decision."
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*Rudd to discuss asylum issue with Indonesia*
The issue of asylum seekers is firmly back on the political agenda ahead of Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's visit to Indonesia next week.
Mr Rudd will visit Jakarta on Thursday and Friday to take part in the annual Indonesia-Australia leaders' meeting.
The asylum seeker issue is set to dominate the trip, with speculation that the Labor Party is preparing to toughen its position on the issue.
Both Mr Rudd and Foreign Minister Bob Carr have recently made comments asserting that many asylum seekers to Australia are not genuine refugees.
EMBED KEY POINTS
Yesterday, during his first media conference since his return to the leadership, Mr Rudd said a "whole bunch of people who seek to come to this country are economic migrants".
In Jakarta, Senator Carr went further, saying there had "been some boats where 100 per cent of them have been people who are fleeing countries where... their motivation is altogether economic".
During his media conference yesterday, Mr Rudd condemned the Coalition's policy of turning back the boats, declaring that a "conflict" could unfold between Australia and Indonesia.
"I'm always wary about where diplomatic conflicts go," he added.
The Opposition's foreign affairs spokeswoman, Julie Bishop, swiftly slammed Mr Rudd's comments as "a shocking diplomatic gaffe" and called on him to retract the statement.
And speaking at the Liberal Party's Victorian campaign rally today, Opposition Leader Tony Abbott slammed Mr Rudd's statement as hypocritical.
"He stands up and he says he wants less negativity and then launches a ferocious negative attack on the Opposition and its leader," he said.
But Mr Rudd, who was campaigning in the Blue Mountains this morning, says he stands by everything he said.
Indonesian foreign affairs spokesman Teuku Faizasyah would not be drawn on Mr Rudd's suggestion, saying it is a matter that the Prime Minister can discuss during his talks.
Indonesia to welcome Rudd visit
Former ambassador to Indonesia Richard Woolcott, who is also a former head of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), told AM that Indonesian politicians are unlikely to be as concerned about the asylum seeker issue as Australian politicians are.
He says Indonesia is already dealing with so many of its own issues and problems, and the issue of asylum seekers is a much less important one.
AM AUDIO.
"The Indonesians I think will not want to involve themselves in our domestic politics of course," he said.
"They are, by nature, careful and polite in the way they handle issues.
"On the other hand, I think they'll be anxious to receive Mr Rudd. He's well-known in Indonesia. I think it's important and sensible that he's going ahead with the visit."
Surge in asylum seeker numbers likely, UN says
The United Nations High Commission for Refugees, Dr Jeff Crisp, says there is likely to be a surge in the number of refugees around the world, regardless of government policy.
"The number of new refugees being created is now at a higher level that at any time in almost 20 years," he said.
"I regret to say that in 2013, because of the ongoing Syria conflict, the figure is going to be much higher indeed."
embed pull quote.
He says the international community is largely surprised that Australia is so concerned about asylum seeker numbers.
"We recognise that the numbers have gone up in recent years, particularly in Australia, but they've gone up much less quickly than the numbers have gone up in developing middle-income countries," he said.
"I come from the UK, and I've worked in Europe for many years, and to be very honest it's quite difficult for those of us from other parts of the world to quite understand the intense political level to which the asylum issue in Australia has risen in recent years.
"Clearly, there has been an increase in numbers, but... from an international perspective, it's not always easy for us to understand the degree of concern and even panic which is sometimes expressed by the public and by politicians in Australia."
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*Fears Australians caught up in outlawed terrorist group*
The Federal Government has raised concerns that Australians may be caught up with a group fighting the Assad regime in Syria that has been listed as a terrorist organisation.
Jabhat al-Nusra is the first group in four years to be listed in Australia as a terrorist organisation.
The Government describes Jabhat al-Nusra as an extremist group with direct links to Al Qaeda in Iraq and has been responsible for indiscriminate bombings in Syria.
Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus says it is not part of the National Coalition for Syrian Revolution and Opposition Forces.
For operational reasons the Australian Government will not say how many Australians are believed to be fighting for groups in Syria but they face prosecution when they return home.
There is the prospect that they could be charged and potentially face heavy penalties.
Last month, the ABC's 7:30 program raised concerns from the Social Justice Network that there is a small minority group of Jabhat al-Nusra supporters in Western Sydney.
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*Obama arrives in South Africa as Mandela's condition improves*
US president Barack Obama has arrived in Pretoria, but has played down expectations he will visit Nelson Mandela in hospital.
It is unclear whether he will make a private visit to the former South African leader, who remains in a critical condition.
Mr Obama has indicated he would defer to Mr Mandela's family about whether to visit the ailing anti-apartheid icon.
"I do not need a photo op," he said. "The last thing I want to do is to be in any way obtrusive.
"I think that the message we'll want to deliver is not directly to him but to his family, is simply profound gratitude for his leadership all these years."
Mr Mandela, who has been in intensive care for three weeks for a recurrent lung infection, is said to be showing signs of improvement.
His ex-wife Winnie Madikizela-Mandela has visited him regularly in hospital.
"From what he was a few days ago, there is great improvement, but clinically he is still unwell," she said.
AMaudio
She appealed to the media not to "get carried away" in the reporting of Mr Mandela's illness and thanked them for their support.
"Please understand the sensitivities and the feeling of the family," she said.
"We had no idea of the love out there for us in our particular situation and if sometimes we sound bitter it is because we are dealing with a very difficult situation."
Mr Mandela's plight has lent a poignant tone to Mr Obama's week-long tour of Africa.
Speaking in Senegal on the first leg of his long-awaited trip to the continent, Mr Obama described Mr Mandela as "a personal hero".
Winnie
"I think he is a hero for the world, and if and when he passes from this place, one thing I think we all know is that his legacy is one that will linger on throughout the ages."
Mr Obama will hold talks with his South African counterpart Jacob Zuma later today.
He is also scheduled to visit Soweto and the former prison on Robben Island, where Mr Mandela was incarcerated.
But Mr Obama will not be greeted warmly by all South Africans during his tour of the country.
On Friday, anti-US "NObama" demonstrations were held in Pretoria by a coalition of leftist, pro-Palestinian and anti-drone groups.
Protesters rallied to express their opposition to what they described as the "arrogant, selfish and oppressive foreign policies" of the US.
ABC/AFP
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