Category: anthony albanese

Australia Dismisses Beijing’s Claim it is ‘Playing With Fire’ for Taiwan Visit

Australian politicians have dismissed Beijing’s claims it is “playing with fire” and undermining efforts to repair Australia-China relations after a delegation of six bipartisan MPs arrived in Taiwan. The Global Times, a mouthpiece of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), published an opinion article saying the visit will “cast a shadow” on Australia’s improving relationship with…


Finland Seeks to Enhance Ties With Australia

Finland is seeking stronger bilateral relations with Australia, with Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin calling for the two nations to join their common lifelines and increase cooperation. Marin is the first Finnish leader to have visited Australia. Speaking at Lowy Institute on Dec. 2, Marin said Finland would like to increase cooperation around clean energy, critical…


Australia’s Contentious Industrial Relations Bill Passes, Industries Concerned While Unions Celebrate

The Australian government has passed its industrial relations bill, which is intended to help workers receive better wages and work conditions. “The Albanese Labor Government has delivered on the next step of its plan to lift wages, improve job security, and start closing the gender pay gap,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said. “By modernising the…


U.S. Navy Needs to Help Australia Defend Its Waters: Former Navy Secretary

Former U.S. Navy Secretary Richard Spencer said the U.S. Navy should provide more help to defend Australia’s waters until it acquires its own nuclear submarines in response to the rising threat from Beijing. Australia’s Navy is expected to experience a capability gap as the first nuclear submarines under the AUKUS agreement will not be ready…


US Navy Needs to Help Australia Defend Its Waters: Former Navy Secretary

Former U.S. Navy Secretary Richard Spencer said the U.S. Navy should provide more help to defend Australia’s waters until it acquires its own nuclear submarines in response to the rising threat from Beijing. Australia’s Navy is expected to experience a capability gap as the first nuclear submarines under the AUKUS agreement will not be ready…


Only Five Years Left to Prevent War With Beijing: Former Australian PM

Beijing will be at war with the United States and possibly Australia within five years unless the United States and its allies stop it from launching a strike on Taiwan, a former Australian prime minister said. According to former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, Chinese leader Xi Jinping is more determined than ever to seize the…


How We Can Make the ‘Voice’ Work

Commentary Plenty has been said about the proposed Indigenous Voice to Parliament; some of it has been thought provoking, and much of it unfortunately, has just been the regurgitation of past offerings by those wanting to score political points. We currently have one side saying it’s racist if the Voice doesn’t get up and the…


Energy Crisis Could ‘Hollow Out’ Australia’s Manufacturing Sector, Treasurer Warns

Soaring energy prices could “hollow out” Australia’s manufacturing sector in particular, but the government is trying to work out a solution, Treasurer Jim Chalmers said. At an Australian Industry Group lunch in Canberra on Monday, Chalmers said he was preparing to announce temporary and sensible regulations to address the energy crisis. “We don’t want to…


Government Announces Aid Package After Relentless Flooding

Small business owners and not-for-profit organisations subject to “repeated relentless flooding” in the past year can receive up to $50,000 (US$33,000) in disaster recovery payments under a new package from the Australian federal and New South Wales (NSW) governments. The prime minister and NSW premier said they had identified a significant number of businesses affected…


Australia Won’t Compromise Values for Trade With China, Opposition Leader Says

Australia’s opposition leader Peter Dutton says that while he supports Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, the centre-right coalition is staying “realistic” about what China is doing. It comes after Albanese met with Xi earlier in the week and raising a host of issues with Beijing, from Xinjiang’s human rights issues…