Stephen Dziedzic
@stephendziedzic
Followers
50,202
Following
5,129
Media
3,007
Statuses
22,261
Foreign Affairs (Asia Pacific) reporter, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Canberra. Personal account. Pron: JED-jets. Wickr: stephendziedzic
Canberra
Joined May 2009
Don't wanna be here?
Send us removal request.
Explore trending content on Musk Viewer
スタンプ
• 155135 Tweets
GPT-4o
• 138375 Tweets
#บุ้งทะลุวัง
• 109118 Tweets
Luka
• 75587 Tweets
#GmmTreatFourthBetter
• 65532 Tweets
Change Fourth Manager
• 60494 Tweets
LINE MAN OFFGUN
• 43285 Tweets
#Flex1045xนุนิวขึ้นใจ
• 35093 Tweets
Mavs
• 34328 Tweets
Shai
• 29674 Tweets
Kyrie
• 26189 Tweets
#Varanasi
• 26064 Tweets
書類送検
• 21773 Tweets
Jリーグカレー
• 18439 Tweets
スナック
• 17287 Tweets
スクエニ
• 16417 Tweets
引退会見
• 14222 Tweets
로즈데이
• 12774 Tweets
サマソニ
• 11274 Tweets
Pinned Tweet
Being gently berated for never writing a story headlined “patient and competent Australian diplomacy yields handsome dividends for the nation over a lengthy period of time”
39
28
356
Three year old daughter has acquired my work lanyard and is now strutting around the house with it around her neck declaring ‘I’m so so so soooo important’ in extremely pompous voice. Most devastating critique I’ve endured in years
131
3K
72K
I sat next to a Filipino nanny on the bus this morning. She was on FaceTime, quietly talking to her own daughter back home, trying not to cry. Every so often she’d whisper “love you, miss you” in English. The toddler she’s caring for slept peacefully in a pram. Life is not fair.
238
6K
41K
Indian food is the best food. There can be no dispute about this. It's sublime. Magnificent. It's like a distant echo of heaven. No other cuisine can compete. There's Indian food and then there is an eternity of daylight and then there is the rest. I will not be taking questions.
287
2K
13K
At some Singapore intersections you can swipe your Senior’s Card and the crossing light will stay green for a little longer, giving you extra time to reach the other side of the road. I find this very touching.
108
4K
7K
I'm not sure exactly who is running the new-ish official account for Kiribati
@KiribatiGov
(murmur is someone in Maamau's office, I'd welcome clarity from the author) but they've gone from a few hundred followers to 20K in a heartbeat and have comprehensively won the internet
32
193
4K
Awful scenes in Delhi. Also disturbing: when I tweet about Muslims being killed, bhakts crawl into my DMs, say I've shown my true colours as an India-hater. The direct opposite is true: I love India. This violence disfigures India. Those who love India *must* voice their horror
139
2K
4K
Breaking- after more than a decade of protracted negotiations, Australia and India will sign an interim free trade deal on Saturday. It's a more comprehensive agreement than some anticipated + will be registered with the WTO like a full FTA. But some key sectors still excluded 1/
53
702
3K
My four year old has a new favourite game called “cafe” it involves taking my order (flat white) preparing it busily before slamming down the cup and hollering STEPHEEEEN at an incredible volume
81
95
3K
BREAKING - the Australian government announces it is legislating new powers to review and cancel agreements that state and territory governments, local councils and public universities make with foreign governments. Likely to spell the end of Victoria's BRI MoU with China.
112
1K
2K
Left my phone on hawker market table. Idiot. But this is Singapore. So when I return half an hour later it’s already been handed in to the nearest stall. In a pristine zip lock bag, to keep it clean. And someone has put a bright yellow smiley face sticker on the bag.
42
232
2K
Has just been pointed out to me that Jacinda Ardern will *not* be the first Kiwi to sit at the Cabinet table - that honour sits with Barnaby Joyce
46
289
2K
International (public) responses to Australia's nuclear submarine announcement:
France: apoplectic
China: hostile
Japan: happy
Indonesia: very uneasy
Malaysia: what Indonesia said
Singapore: comfortable
Philippines: at ease
Germany: indifferent
New Zealand: watchful
144
453
2K
Breaking- Australia's Defence Department confirms the Vice Chief of the ADF Vice Admiral David Johnston has spoken to Soe Win of Myanmar's military junta. A Dept spokesperson says he called for the immediate release of Sean Turnell and urged the military to restore democracy 1/
198
2K
2K
Very interesting. Vice Chief of the Australian Defence Force David Johnston had a phone call yesterday with Soe Win, the second most powerful general in Myanmar's junta. I think it's the first time Australia's managed to contact top levels of military regime since the coup 1/
214
1K
2K
Glorious Christmas bauble of a bird, just hanging out in Curtin under blue skies, making my daily jog even more damn delightful
47
111
2K
Breaking - I've confirmed that distinguished Australian jurist James Spigelman *resigned* from the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal earlier this month. He says his decision was "related to the content of the national security laws" passed by Beijing 1/
72
2K
2K
The last 20 seconds: one of the most perfect things I have ever seen
73
215
2K
Eeek. The Prime Minister says Australia has a "one country, two systems" policy on Taiwan. This isn't true. That's Hong Kong.
177
364
2K
A pretty damn spectacular welcome for Albanese as the PM’s motorcade leaves the airport
28
89
1K
Wow. What a story from my colleague Tracey Holmes. Around 50 Afghan athletes and dependents are on their way to Australia after being evacuated from Kabul airport. Most of the athletes are women. They've been granted humanitarian visas by the federal government.
46
189
1K
Welcome to the world, May. Born on Saturday afternoon. She’s impossibly wonderful.
132
18
1K
Striking language from James Marape as he opens meeting between Indian PM Narendra Modi and Pacific leaders. Marape calls Modi the "leader of the Global South" and India the "third big voice" in global politics which "must emerge." He says the Pacific will "rally behind" India
36
400
1K
Many of Australia's most senior military + intelligence officials and top brass (plus a host of
@dfat
folk) in New Delhi right now for the Raisina Dialogue and other meetings. Head of ASIS, head of ASIO, head of ONI, the Chief of Defence Force, Secretary of Defence Dept
14
195
1K
My five year old has spent the last ***25 minutes*** excitedly taking about a pine cone he just discovered on a bike ride and I’m going slightly insane but also would kind of give a kidney to be able rediscover that sense of wonder
43
64
1K
Good news. Another 470 people evacuated from Kabul on four Australian flights overnight. That includes Australians, Afghan nationals + British citizens. And another group of Australians I've been in touch with has made it through into the terminal, expect to get on a flight soon
57
124
1K
This story is bonkers. It claims Chinese embassy officials beat up a Taiwanese diplomat in Fiji at Taiwan National Day celebrations. The diplomat "required hospital treatment." Police were called but the Chinese officials claimed diplomatic immunity
69
986
1K
SBS announces it will no longer broadcast news bulletins from Russia Today (Russian state TV network) or NTV Moscow
24
180
1K
Pleasingly, Keating's dining room looks *exactly* like what you would expect Paul Keating's dining room to look like
Australia: PRC ambassador Xiao Qian visits former Australian Prime Minister Paul Keating and they discuss "China-Australia relations and international situation"
26
54
182
102
124
1K
My wife is right now successfully cajoling our toddler to eat his dinner by reciting a new fact about bees every single time he eats a spoonful, and honestly I could not love her more
30
52
1K
This is a truly magnificent headline juxtaposition which would thoroughly bewilder anyone who doesn't follow Indian domestic politics
20
215
1K
I guess it’s a statement of the bleeding obvious but “middle class people hiding and working class people bringing them things” is still the best distillation of lockdown I have stumbled upon
25
239
1K
Prime Minister Scott Morrison confirms Australia *is* considering safe haven visas for Hong Kong residents. Sounds like a decision will be made by Cabinet quite soon.
74
512
1K
Pretty extraordinary - Anthony Albanese and Narendra Modi do a lap of honour in a chariot at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. Deep, reverberating roar through the stadium
48
86
1K
Dear Singaporean nana who calmly scooped up my angry toddler in the supermarket, chiding him gently in (I think?) Hokkien before depositing him, startled but quiet, into the pram and mysteriously disappearing into the night: are you in fact Batman? And can you please come back?
18
117
1K
BREAKING Australia's PM
@ScottMorrisonMP
announcing Australia's response to the Chinese Government's crackdown on Hong Kong. Confirms that Australia will SUSPEND its extradition treaty with Hong Kong
19
349
976
Golly. Labor MP Anne Aly slams party leadership for parachuting Kristina Keneally into Fowler: "multiculturalism can't just be a trope that Labor pulls out and parades, while wearing a sari and eating some kung pao chicken to make ourselves look good. This is a huge failure."
59
186
1K
OK because it's Friday afternoon, and because this week has been a whirlpool of pointless feuds and fervid denunciations: here is a nice photo of my boy Tobias with a brown chicken
54
25
988
Have spoken to two Australians at Kabul airport. Chaotic and frightening scene. One says the US military has struggled to maintain order- there's the sound of gunfire, but source unclear. He says he's constantly trying to contact the Australian Government but he's got no response
30
306
973
Chinese police becoming more visible on Honiara streets
82
343
902
The entire 2022
@dfat
grad year is toiling away in the passport office (aka the salt mines) as part of the govt's push to reduce (genuinely unacceptable) processing delays. I've lost count of how many Canberra group chats have shared this snippet of info almost gleefully
45
111
920
Breaking:
@MarisePayne
announces Australian support package for COVID-19 crisis in Indonesia. Aust sending 1000 ventilators, 700 oxygen concentrators, 170 oxygen cylinders and 40 thousand testing kits. Also 2.5 million AZ doses this year (part of 20 mil already announced by PM)
36
453
884
Courage.
4
78
871
Jesus Christ. Police have arrested a "small organised group" of 11 people taking part in the "Freedom Convoy" protest in Canada. This is the weapons cache they seized
62
390
823
How have I never seen this before? Excruciating. HT
@Cold_Peace_
Was Osama Bin Laden a martyr?
Pakistan’s Foreign Minister replies:
0
730
2K
31
147
783
The foreign policy debate has kicked off in Canberra. Labor's Penny Wong starts with an announcement- the ALP will develop a First Nations foreign policy. She says Labor will appoint an Ambassador for First Nations people and "ensure they have a stronger voice" in fp 1/
23
164
828
Responses in Australia to new (interim) FTA with India:
Dairy farmers: disappointed
Universities: delighted
Meat industry: downright happy
Grain growers: underwhelmed
Winemakers: dismissive
Citrus: content
Farmers federation: pleased
Economists: (shrugs)
25
99
773
Baldrick voice: Sir, I have a cunning plan
I'm not 100% but I think this correspondent may be just covering the defence desk whilst the regular journalist is on holiday.
270
942
6K
27
102
790
BREAKING The Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announces Cheng Lei has been freed and has arrived back home in Melbourne
54
164
799
Here's a report on the phone call in Myanmar state media. There's quite a bit of coverage I'm told- presumably because Tatmadaw believes calls like this will help it show it's not an international pariah 2/
108
622
738
Not just Australia. New Zealand announces it's "reviewing its relationship settings" with Hong Kong
19
353
693
Staring lovestruck at my 13 month old daughter, who is (finally!) fast asleep, and perfect. Every so often the simple fact of her existence hits me like a thunderbolt.
29
14
747
BREAKING Morrison also announces that many temporary visa holders from Hong Kong who are currently in Australia will be able to stay here for another five years. Australia will also offer them a "pathway to permanent residency"
24
259
692
Some rare good news. One of the Australians I’ve been in contact with - and who has been desperately trying to get into Kabul airport for days - is one of the 300 plus people who were flown out of Afghanistan on several evacuation flights overnight. Can’t even imagine the relief
9
43
724
Fascinating. The
@LowyInstitute
has crunched COVID-19 data and come up with a list of the countries which have tackled the pandemic most effectively. Top of the list? New Zealand. Followed by Vietnam, Taiwan and Thailand. Australia also near the top - it's been ranked 8th 1/
60
360
716
The PM announces that Australia *will* provide military equipment and lethal aid to Ukraine through NATO and the US/UK. So, sounds like we will essentially provide money - the amount isn't public - to help fund Western efforts to arm Ukrainian solders 1/
45
161
708
This really is an extraordinary paragraph from the annual threat assessment delivered by ASIO head Mike Burgess tonight in Canberra
60
214
705
A surprising number of people seemed to have enjoyed my tweets about life with a toddler in Singapore. So I wrote a piece for
@abcnews
about becoming a stay-at-home dad
45
108
699
Hilariously, three foreign diplomats have this morning sent me their "list of grievances" with Australia. Some common themes emerge, particularly 1/ bad drivers in Canberra 2/ the paucity of good bars in Canberra
81
63
692
Indian External Affairs Minister
@DrSJaishankar
giving a speech at
@UniMelb
ahead of the Quad Foreign Ministers meeting this afternoon. I’ll tweet a few excerpts 1/
6
71
668
Quite a few people asking why Albanese is the only one wearing a blue badge. I'm told it's a Govt of Japan seal which denotes his seniority as a Prime Minister- just in case somebody at the venue doesn't recognise him. Which is obviously not a problem for Modi, Biden or Kishida
A historic first meeting between President Joe Biden and newly-elected Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese as the Quad Leaders’ Summit gets underway in Tokyo. 🇺🇸🇦🇺🇮🇳🇯🇵
57
329
3K
35
111
675
I’m strangely touched by the ABC reader who politely headed his feedback email “warning: profanity within” before launching into an abusive tirade which involved some truly inventive swear word combinations as well as baroque suggestions as to where I could shove various objects
29
39
683
Tobias insists he wants to “start work now” so God forgive us we have made him a laptop using a Weetbix box. He’s now typing intently. Every few minutes he murmurs “very important!” under his breath. It’s mildly terrifying.
29
38
669
Breaking - Australia's Shadow Foreign Minister says Americans "deserve to have their voices heard" and "the democratic process must be respected"
Americans have voted in historic numbers in this election.
They deserve to have their voices heard.
The democratic process must be respected, even when it takes time.
It’s in Australia’s interest that America remains a credible, stable democracy.
307
1K
9K
19
127
627
Early flight to Canberra. Me: rifles madly through four newspapers, stares anxiously at phone in flight mode. Bloke next to me: reads battered copy of the Iliad. Silence punctured only by his quiet exclamations of occasional delight. Me: Questions life choices
19
73
625
BREAKING Australia's major political parties have been hacked by a "sophisticated state actor." Full statement by the PM to parliament:
70
653
583
Penny Wong will head to Solomon Islands on Friday, after visiting New Zealand on Thursday. She'll meet the Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare. Wong will be the first Australian Government Minister to visit Honiara since Solomon Islands signed a contentious security pact with China
17
163
625
To the woman in a Qantas high-vis jacket skipping drunkenly down the main street of Manuka on Monday evening while hollering “I’m the flying kangaroo!!!” - I salute you
10
29
617
The first "Canberra is a GHOST TOWN oh wait this photo was taken three weeks ago" tweet was very funny, the second was still mildly entertaining, but the subsequent 147 on the same theme are slowly awakening something murderous and terrible deep inside me
29
31
620
- Pakistan military says it's shot down two Indian aircraft and arrested one Indian pilot
- Pakistan also says its planes have hit "non military" targets across the LoC (but doesn't say what they are)
- Unconfirmed reports India has also shot down a Pakistani F-16 fighter
144
213
563
Few surprises in regional responses to AUKUS announcement so far:
Japan- supportive
Malaysia- still opposed
Indonesia- cautious, less hostile than 2021
Fiji- supportive (or Rabuka is anyway)
Taiwan- pleased
Philippines- apparently on board
France- *shrugs expressively*
38
112
613
Breaking- Singapore is sending half a million Pfizer vaccines to Australia as part of a “vaccine swap” between the two countries. Doses are due expire shortly + will be rolled out in Aus from next week. Australia will then send 500,000 Pfizer doses *back* to Singapore in December
45
134
613
Tobias (almost three) has been enthusiastic about his baby sister’s imminent arrival. Until now. Furrowed brow. Calmly informed me he no longer requires her. He had an air of mild regret, much like a mid-level office manager cancelling a large order of printer cartridges.
15
27
612
Singapore’s Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan at ANU. Strikes a rather grim tone. The FM says intense competition between the US and China has almost completely obliterated strategic trust and created a “dysfunctional” relationship, raising the risk of catastrophic conflict 1/
27
179
591
We've now updated our story on this call 3/
49
327
582
Confirmation. Investigative piece in French daily La Croix International says Chinese embassies around the world were issued confidential instructions to "raise doubts" about the genesis of coronavirus and suggest it might have come to China from abroad
57
526
545
HOW I IMAGINED ADULTHOOD: jet to financial capital, scoff whiskey, slam hand on magnificent oak desk in soaring skyscraper, negotiate titanic corporate merger. ACTUAL ADULTHOOD: ride around shopping centre with toddler on motorised triceratops blaring “Barbie Girl” at high pitch
19
34
577
Golly. Tony Abbott speech in Taiwan. Extraordinary. A direct reference to Xi, saying China has "cancelled popular personalities in favour of a cult of the new red emperor." Accuses Beijing of wanting to make Australia a "tributary state"
131
196
551
Jaishankar on India's dependence on Russian military equipment: "our Russian inventory grew for a variety of reasons ... for multiple decades Western countries did not supply weapons to India and in fact saw a military dictatorship next to us as the preferred partner." Ouch. 4/
9
158
532
Finally. After years of sometimes excruciating debate, Australia has been invited to join the next Malabar naval exercises with the US, Japan and India. Exercises are due to be held next month in the Indian Ocean.
14
144
505
Staggering. Dutton says on Insiders that Australia will announce its full nuclear-powered submarine plan *within two months* - “we will have an announcement within the next couple of months about which boat we are going with (and) what we can do in the interim” 1/
76
114
537
The writing is on the wall. Trump's closest allies overseas are dropping him like a hot rock, one by one. Bolsonaro says Trump is “not the most important person in the world" and now even Bibi is lining up to congratulate Biden
Congratulations
@JoeBiden
and
@KamalaHarris
. Joe, we’ve had a long & warm personal relationship for nearly 40 years, and I know you as a great friend of Israel. I look forward to working with both of you to further strengthen the special alliance between the U.S. and Israel.
16K
9K
61K
19
98
519
The Myanmar readout focusses more on what Soe Win said than what Johnston said. Apparently he defended the junta's actions + told Johnston "Myanmar Tatmadaw is a democratic Tatmadaw as (is) the Australian military" (I'm guessing Johnston's response to this was polite silence) 3/
104
325
517
Furious piece from former Ambassador to US, Japan + India John McCarthy, who says Australia can take no pride in its "limited" evacuation from Kabul and accuses officials of taking refuge in "arcane pettifoggery" to deny visas. "We have become something paltry and second rate"
12
213
530
Some personal news- I'm moving to Singapore for a year. Leaving Canberra in (gulp) less than two weeks. I'll continue to file now and then for the ABC. In the meantime hit me up with all your Singapore tips! Who do I need to meet? Where do I find impossibly delicious Hokkien mee?
136
23
521
Dropped wailing two year old off at new daycare centre. Many tears. Kindly, capable staff urge me to go, make clean break, leave now, firmly assure me Tobi will be fine. Absurdly now hiding behind bushes near window at the back, trying to hear if he’s stopped crying. Send help.
55
13
514
Breaking- furious response from the Chinese Embassy to the Australian Government's Hong Kong visa and extradition treaty announcements. Urges Australia to "stop meddling" in Hong Kong and warns Canberra it is "lifting a rock … only to hit its own feet"
72
295
488
@lotus2955
@Kempinskiishtar
I'm amazed by their resilience. It's lovely when you see domestic workers just gathering in the parks on Sunday, taking the opportunity to laugh and joke together. As well as phoning home, of course.
5
23
486
I've confirmed that around 60 people - Afghans who worked for the ADF or DFAT, as well as their family members - have landed in Australia in recent days. Another 150 plus expected to arrive in coming days
Good reporting here from
@SBSNews
- "dozens of Afghans who worked with the ADF arrive in Australia"
11
55
234
26
105
488
*sheer viewing pleasure*
no matter what you think is gonna happen in this video, you’re wrong
2K
62K
283K
12
120
490
Big diplomatic blow-up in Port Moresby, I'm told four Chinese officials barged into the PNG Foreign Ministry yesterday afternoon demanding to meet PNG FM Rimbink Pato over wording of final communique. He refused to meet them. Heated scenes.
31
292
415
Members of the Tibetan and Uyghur communities outside Parliament House protesting Wang Yi’s visit to Canberra
99
103
472