WeWork says its commitment to Australia is ‘unwavering’ after US parent files for bankruptcy
Shared office provider WeWork says it is “business as usual” for its Australian operations, even after the US parent filed for bankruptcy as debts mounted and office vacancies increased around the world.
The former high-flying New York-headquartered company operates in 15 Australian locations as part of its global portfolio spread across more than 30 countries.
Continue reading...Greens say Labor has agreed to stop senior executives or partners at firms from becoming board members of Tax Practitioners Board
Partners at big four consultancy firms could soon be banned from being board members of a regulator that investigates the conduct of their colleagues due to conflict of interest concerns.
The Tax Practitioners Board (TPB), which proved instrumental in uncovering the scale of a scandal involving the misuse of confidential Treasury information by a partner at PwC Australia, has the power to deregister accountants after serious misconduct.
Continue reading...The first visit by an Australian PM in seven years was hailed an example of ‘win-win cooperation’ in China’s dutiful state media
On Tuesday, Anthony Albanese made the front page of China’s official English-language state newspaper. So did the Cuban prime minister, Manuel Marrero Cruz, the Serbian prime minister, Ana Brnabic, and the South African deputy president, Paul Mashatile.
It was a sign of the importance of Albanese’s visit, but also a reminder that it’s not of the same significance in Beijing that it is in Canberra. The historic visit by Albanese to China this week was the first by an Australian prime minister in seven years. But analysts say the trip, which included a meeting between Albanese and the president, Xi Jinping, was more about clearing one problem Beijing saw as fixable from an increasingly full plate of dramas.
Continue reading...The two countries also announce they will resume annual leaders meetings after Anthony Albanese’s trip – the first by an Australian prime minister since 2016
Anthony Albanese is en route to the Pacific Islands Forum after executing a comprehensive diplomatic reset with China which includes an agreement to create a new multi-entry visa to facilitate exchanges and closer links between people.
The new visa for visitors and business people was agreed at the conclusion of the Australian prime minister’s meetings with the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, and the premier, Li Qiang, in Beijing’s Great Hall of the People on Monday and Tuesday.
Continue reading...Normal diplomatic conventions have been restored between Australia and China after years of spiralling contention. China clearly wants to re-engage and reset with the world
Just before the Reserve Bank of Australia hiked interest rates, and Without A Fight stormed home in the Melbourne Cup, China’s premier, Li Qiang, adopted a flirtatious tone in Beijing with his guest Anthony Albanese.
Tongue firmly in cheek, Li said to the Australian prime minister: “On our way into the hall, I shared with you that I see on social media of China … there are many sharing of short videos about your trip to China … including a video of you running along the river with a yellow jersey.”
Continue reading...NSW police say the 27 seized cars worth $2m were destined to be used in organised crime network homicides or firearm violence
Dozens of “kill cars” allegedly stolen to carry out violent crimes across Sydney have been seized in the latest crackdown on the city’s gang wars.
From Porsches to Ford Rangers, a total of 27 cars worth more than $2m are now in police custody.
Continue reading...A record level of stressed households are projected as economists tip Melbourne Cup Day interest rate rise. Follow the day’s news live
The government services minister, Bill Shorten, was also asked about the Reserve Bank’s upcoming decision on interest rates later today.
He acknowledged the Reserve Bank is independent of the government but said “I hope it stays static”:
[I] just know a lot of mortgage holders are doing it tough, but the bank will make its decision independently.
For the Albanese government, we know that inflation is a cost of living issue. We have put in a whole heap of measures from childcare to parental leave and energy support. People are doing it tough at the moment, I think it’s hard out there.
Continue reading...Among five people killed in accident in Victoria were Pratibha Sharma, her daughter Anvi and her partner Jatin Chugh
A well-known Melbourne volunteer and former political candidate, along with her partner and her nine-year-old daughter, are being mourned after they were among five people killed after a car crashed through the busy beer garden of the Royal Daylesford hotel on Sunday.
Tributes were being paid to Pratibha Sharma, 44, her daughter, Anvi, and her partner, Jatin Chugh, 30, after the Point Cook family were named among the dead on Monday night.
Continue reading...Two boys, aged between 10 and 15, died after being thrown from a car which crashed on a suburban street on Monday morning
The hunt for two men who fled the scene of a car crash that killed two boys has entered its second day as officers piece together the events leading up to the tragedy.
Two boys died after being thrown from a car which crashed on a suburban street at Ashcroft, in Sydney’s south-west, about 10.50am on Monday.
Continue reading...Deputy premier Steven Miles says it’s ‘too late’ to cancel projects and any effect on demand is likely to be years away
The Queensland deputy premier has demanded that federal Labor explain why it is cutting infrastructure spending to fight inflation rather than revisiting controversial tax cuts for high income earners.
Steven Miles has upped the pressure on the Albanese government over looming infrastructure cuts in an opinion piece in the Courier-Mail, arguing it is “too late” to cut projects to fight inflation and urging it to reconsider stage-three tax cuts instead.
Continue reading...Climate change and rising strategic competition among issues facing leaders at region’s most important political gathering
The leaders of Pacific nations will gather in the Cook Islands this week for the most closely watched meeting on the regional calendar. The Pacific Islands Forum, or Pif, is the main political decision making body for the region. This year discussions are likely to be dominated by climate change ahead of COP28, and will also address how to manage increasing geostrategic competition – including the rise of China.
On the eve of the summit, officials confirmed the leaders of Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and New Zealand would not attend – weakening the prospects of progress on some issues.
Continue reading...Only 11% of respondents to survey say they have ‘high interest’, down five points from before last year’s race
Punters are switching off the Melbourne Cup, with a majority of Australians reporting they have little or no interest in what was once “the race that stops the nation”.
According to the latest Essential poll of 1,049 voters, just 11% reported a “high interest” in the Melbourne Cup, down five points from when the question was asked before the 2022 race.
Continue reading...This blog is now closed.
Paterson: ceasefire in Gaza would ‘just allow Hamas to regroup’
Turning to the Israel-Hamas war, Liberal senator James Paterson is asked for his view on calls for a ceasefire.
[It would] just allow Hamas to regroup, it would allow them to continue to hold more than 200 hostages, and it would allow them to again prepare for another attack on Israel.
And the truth is that neither the people of Gaza, the Palestinian people, nor the people of Israel, will be safe as long as Hamas is in power in Gaza. And so their removal is a legitimate military objective which Israel is proceeding with. Having said that, it is of course important for Israel and the IDF to do what they can to minimise civilian casualties.
I think it’s important that the prime minister raises the full range of issues in the bilateral relationship with Xi Jinping, including the foreign interference and espionage in our democracy but also the ongoing detention of an Australian citizen Dr Yang Hengjun, the ongoing unjustified sanctions against the Australian economy and many other challenges.
I think they (China) certainly do pose national security challenges to Australia in terms of foreign interference and espionage, in terms of cyber attacks in terms of intellectual property theft, but also in terms of malign conduct that they’re engaging in the South China Sea …
In my view, it would be absurd to admit as a member of one of the highest standard agreements in the world, a country which until recently had engaged in up to $20bn of economic sanctions against the bilateral free trade agreement. If the Chinese government is not able to abide by the standards it voluntarily agreed to enter into under the Australian free trade agreement, why should we expect that they will behave any differently in the future?
Continue reading...Police say a nine-year-old girl and an 11-year-old boy, along with two of their parents, are among the five killed
It was one of Daylesford’s busiest weekends. Tourists were taking advantage of a Victorian public holiday on Tuesday to flock to the town for a four-day long weekend.
One of the town’s most popular pubs, the Royal Daylesford Hotel, had families gathered in its beer garden, toasting the sunset and enjoying a relatively warm Sunday in November.
Continue reading...The US has been racing to reopen embassies and deepen links with Pacific countries in wake of Solomon Islands security pact with China
The leaders of three Melanesian countries are missing the region’s most important annual political gathering, dealing a blow to attempts by Pacific island countries to project unity at a time of rising geopolitical rivalry.
Officials confirmed the prime ministers of Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea would not be travelling to the Cook Islands for the Pacific Islands Forum (Pif) meeting running from Monday to Friday.
Continue reading...Referendum ‘shifted Australia in the right direction’ despite failure in vote, one advocate says, as Indigenous leaders privately debate next steps
Key campaigners for the Indigenous voice referendum say their support for the Uluru statement from the heart still stands and they will keep working towards a voice to parliament, with the official yes organisation to continue advocating for First Nations issues.
Despite the failure of the 14 October vote, yes campaigner Thomas Mayo said the referendum and campaign had “shifted Australia in the right direction”. The federal Labor government is still considering its next agenda in Indigenous affairs policy, but architects of the yes campaign say they will continue calling for truth, treaty and voice policies.
Continue reading...Experts in public health say that commercial interests engage in practices harmful to health and the environment
It’s a “risky business” for the government to work with the food industry to tackle health crises like obesity, an international public health conference has been told, with effective food packaging labels already jeopardised.
Dr Dori Patay, a researcher with the Menzies Centre in Sydney, said despite ample evidence of the harmful influence of the food industry on health policy, governments increasingly regard the food industry as “partners” in addressing chronic diseases.
Continue reading...The Queensland Conservation Council says new entity will take ‘proactive actions’ to ensure state’s environmental laws are enforced
Queensland’s peak conservation group says it will launch a new “enforcement arm”, amid frustration at stalled government promises to establish an independent environmental regulator.
Every Australian state or territory – except Queensland – has an independent Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Continue reading...Mehreen Faruqi leads boycott of question time to protest against claimed Albanese government inaction over conflict in Gaza
The Greens have stormed out of Senate question time to protest what they say is Albanese government inaction over the conflict in Gaza.
The Greens deputy leader, Mehreen Faruqi, led the boycott declaring that Labor’s “weasel words are not going to stop war crimes” by Israel and shouting “free, free Palestine” with her fist raised.
Continue reading...The prime minister will visit the Temple of Heaven in Beijing on Monday morning before a significant meeting with China’s president, Xi Jinping
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Fifty years ago, Gough Whitlam visited the Temple of Heaven in Beijing as part of an historic visit to China to establish diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic.
Whitlam’s visit to the Beijing landmark produced an iconic image. In the photograph, the newly elected Australian prime minister is captured with his ear to the circular Echo Wall in the world heritage site. In the background, the Australian prime minister is watched by Stephen Fitzgerald, Australia’s first ambassador to China.
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