Category Archives: Australian foreign policy

Small businesses offered tax breaks for going green in federal budget – as it happened

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Marles on Australians caught in Sudan conflict

Asked about Australians caught in Sudan and the conflict there, Richard Marles says “there are still options out of Port Sudan which is on the Red Sea, which is, I think it’s about 800km out of Khartoum” to leave “what is obviously a deteriorating situation”:

There are ferries there and there may be other options coming out of that. I mean, the important thing is this – Australians in Sudan, and there do remain a number of Australians in Sudan, really need to make sure that they register.

We will continue to work with friends and allies and do everything that we can within our power to provide options for Australians who want to leave. Because we understand how difficult this situation is now.

Ultimately, our ambition is to establish a production line with companies in this country which would provide for the manufacture of those long-range strike missiles and doing as much of that as possible in the next couple of years. We hope that we can begin with the assembly of the strike missiles that go in the Himars system. But we want to build on that so that we’re actually manufacturing the full suite of these weapons in Australia.

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Company emails at odds with evidence used to jail Australian engineer Robert Pether in Iraq

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Revealed: documents prompt fresh calls for Pether’s release, amid separate claims that a biased translator was used in court case

A cache of documents has undermined key evidence that was relied upon by Iraqi authorities to jail the Australian engineer Robert Pether, prompting renewed calls for his release.

Pether, a father of three, has meanwhile made allegations that a “confession” statement used against him was mistranslated by a biased employee of Iraq’s central bank before being handed to court.

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News live: clock ticking as US coast guard scours ocean for missing Australian cruise passenger

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Coast guard say passenger went overboard 500 nautical miles (926 kilometres) from Hawaii’s Big Island. Follow live

The US coast guard has confirmed that an Australian man fell overboard on the Quantum of the Seas cruise ship, which was travelling from Brisbane to Hawaii.

The coast guard said the passenger went overboard 500 nautical miles (926 kilometres) from Hawaii’s Big Island.

500 nautical miles south of Hawaii’s Big Island a man fell overboard on Quantum of the Seas cruise ship. He is an Australian national.

A Hercules airplane is on scene conducting a search. At the moment it is the only asset that’s on scene searching.

We’ve been on scene since 9am. And with the crew’s endurance and the fuel constraints of the vessel they should be there for about six hours since arriving on scene.

What I can confirm is the budget will have a cost of living package that is targeted to the most vulnerable. We’ve been clear about that. Obviously some of that is the assistance and support on energy relief. We’ve had the announcements around medicines in the last day.

We are focused on making sure we can do the right thing for those that are doing it tough, but within an environment where there are a lot of demands on the budget in a lot of areas.

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Joe Biden to visit Australia in May as Sydney hosts 2023 Quad leaders’ summit

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Meeting will bring together leaders of the US, India, Japan and Australia at the Sydney Opera House

The Sydney Opera House will be the focus of a major security operation when the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, welcomes the US president, Joe Biden and the prime ministers of India and Japan for a key diplomatic event.

Albanese said on Wednesday that “Australia’s most recognisable building” would be the venue for the Quad leaders’ summit on 24 May.

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Beijing says don’t ‘hype up the so-called China threat narrative’ after Australian criticism

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Call comes after Australia’s defence review says activities in South China Sea ‘threaten rules-based order’

The Chinese government has urged countries not to “hype up the so-called China threat narrative” after a major Australian defence review criticised its activities in the South China Sea.

The Australian government’s defence strategic review, released on Monday, labelled the intense competition between China and the United States as “the defining feature of our region and our time”.

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The defence review says Australia is at little risk of a land invasion – but that’s not where the threats end

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Cyber-warfare and the ‘missile age’ have radically reduced Australia’s geographical defensive benefits, report argues

Australia’s defence strategic review paints an alarming picture of the “radically different” security outlook in the Indo-Pacific, including the risk of “major conflict in the region that directly threatens our national interest”.

But it is important to be very clear about what Monday’s document does and doesn’t say about the threats Australia faces.

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Australia news live: defence strategic review ‘a cannibalisation of army mobility’, Hastie says; Victorian jockey dies after race fall

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Review calls for ADF to develop ability to precisely strike targets at longer range and to develop stronger network. Follow the day’s news live

Plibersek v Joyce on Newspoll

In their regular spot on Sunrise, environment minister Tanya Plibersek and Coalition frontbencher Barnaby Joyce weighed in on those Newspoll results.

They’re very strong support numbers, and I tell you the reason is not based on polling but what people tell me when I’m out around the country.

People tell me that they’re pleased to see a government that is just getting on with the job, doing what we promised and they’re impressed that the prime minister is just sticking with what he said he’d do.

We don’t have an election tomorrow and that’s a good thing.

A lot of people are starting to focus now on issues such as the voice and saying, “I don’t feel comfortable with this.”

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War of words: Australia can expect a hostile response from China to strategic defence review

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Experts say Australia should look beyond criticism that is largely for domestic Chinese consumption and engage on a broader level

Australia’s strategic defence review, to be made public on Monday, is likely to spark a hostile response from China and set off a new round of claim and counterclaim about the precarious relationship between the two countries.

Sir Angus Houston, the former head of the Australian military who led the review with the former defence minister Stephen Smith, said when it was launched last year the strategic circumstances were “the worst I have ever seen in my career and lifetime”.

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Chinese-Australians face fewer racist insults than at height of diplomatic tensions with Beijing, survey finds

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Lowy Institute poll indicates one in five Chinese-Australians were called offensive names in 2022, down 10 points from 31% in 2020

Chinese-Australians have continued to experience racist insults but at a lower rate than when diplomatic tensions between Canberra and Beijing erupted in 2020, a new study has found.

Polling commissioned by the Lowy Institute indicates one in five Chinese-Australians said they were called offensive names because of their heritage in 2022.

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Penny Wong and Paul Keating spar as minister warns against ‘frenzied’ Taiwan war speculation

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Wong also hits back at former prime minister saying his comments diminish ‘his legacy and the subject matter’

Penny Wong has warned politicians and media against playing “the most dangerous of parlour games” by adding to “frenzied” speculation about a war over Taiwan.

The Australian foreign affairs minister said on Monday that such a conflict would be “catastrophic for all” and there would be “no real winners” – but the warning was quickly overshadowed by a fresh war of words with Paul Keating.

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Australia news live: household assistance on energy bills to be detailed in budget, Chalmers says

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Treasurer says volatility in the global economy to have ‘flow-on effect on budget’. Follow the day’s news live

The shadow minister for foreign affairs, Simon Birmingham, is chastising the PM for letting there be any doubt whether he will be attending the Nato security summit.

Bangarra Dance Theatre supports voting ‘Yes’ in voice referendum

For over three decades, Bangarra Dance Theatre has been privileged to be entrusted with sharing the powerful voices of the world’s oldest living cultures – the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures of this nation.

The stories we tell have awakened a national consciousness to the deep scars of our colonial history, and the legacy of unseen trauma left in its wake. We attend to this knowing that by carrying Story, we also carry a responsibility to give insight into our experiences, promote understanding, and effect change. But is this enough?

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Penny Wong dismisses Paul Keating’s claim that the military has taken over Australian foreign policy

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Minister says foreign and defence policies are both essential for making the country stronger and more influential

Penny Wong will dismiss Paul Keating’s claim that the military has taken over foreign policy in Australia, as she insists the defence department and diplomats are working together to “keep the peace”.

In a speech on Monday, the foreign affairs minister will say countries across the Indo-Pacific region want to “choose their own destiny” and not have the rules “dictated by a single major power to suit its own interests”.

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TikTok can still access data from Australian government devices via app on personal phones, academic warns

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Data sharing between platforms could limit effectiveness of social media app’s ban from government devices

TikTok could still access information held on Australian government devices if public servants and politicians continue to use the app on their personal mobile devices, according to a legal academic from the University of New South Wales.

Dr Katharine Kemp, who focuses on consumer law and has researched a wide variety of privacy policies for digital apps, said the loophole could limit the effectiveness of the ban on TikTok from government devices.

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Australia’s trade minister hopeful China bans will end but warns against putting ‘all our eggs in one basket’

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Don Farrell has dismissed talk of any Australian policy shift after breakthrough reached on barley exports

The Australian trade minister says he wants a quick return to normal trade with China but has warned exporters not to put “all of our eggs in one basket”.

In an interview with Guardian Australia, Don Farrell was bullish about the prospect of Australia succeeding in its international challenge against Beijing’s tariffs on Australian barley, saying he thought “we would ultimately win that”.

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Australian winemakers hopeful of breakthrough on $1.2bn China trade but still plan to diversify markets

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After government announced deal with China that could end tariffs on barley, wine producers now cautiously optimistic

Australian wine producers hope Beijing could soon remove tariffs that slashed the $1.2bn trade by 99% – but say they are wary about relying too heavily on the Chinese market.

After the Australian government announced a deal with China that could lead to the scrapping of tariffs on barley within months, wine producers also expressed cautious optimism.

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Australia strikes deal with China over barley trade dispute

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In ‘sign of goodwill’, federal government temporarily suspends WTO challenge as China agrees to review its tariffs

The Australian government has reached a deal with China that may lead to the removal of tariffs on Australian barley that were introduced at the height of diplomatic tensions in 2020.

While the axing of the tariffs is not guaranteed, the Australian government presented the snap review as an important “pathway” to resolve one of the most complex trade disputes between the two countries.

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Penny Wong condemns escalating violence and calls for calm in Middle East

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Foreign minister’s comments follow rocket attacks fired into Israel, and police raids on a Jerusalem mosque

Australia’s foreign minister, Penny Wong, has condemned escalating violence and terror attacks in the Middle East.

Her comments follow rocket attacks fired into Israel from Lebanon and the Gaza Strip.

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Australia must rescue citizens from ‘dire’ Syrian detention camps, Red Cross says

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Global director general says ‘state of in-limbo cannot last longer’, with about 40 citizens still believed to be detained indefinitely

Australia and other countries must continue to rescue their citizens from “dire” conditions in camps in north-eastern Syria, the head of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has said.

The global director general of the Geneva-based humanitarian organisation, Robert Mardini, said the “state of in-limbo cannot last longer”.

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Liberal senator insists Australia must be ‘ruthless’ in pursuit of US military technology

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James Paterson says regulatory barriers in US could imperil access to AI, hypersonic weapons and other advanced systems

Australia needs to be “ruthless” about prioritising which technologies it pursues under the second pillar of the Aukus pact to overcome “regulatory barriers” in the US, the shadow minister for cybersecurity and countering foreign interference, James Paterson, has said.

The Liberal senator made the comments on the Guardian’s Australian politics podcast, warning that an “absence of consensus” in the US and a “clear plan” in Australia could see it miss out.

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Daniel Andrews returns from media-free China trip as opposition vows to pursue unanswered questions

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Victorian premier reveals it was his decision not to invite media on his four-day mission to China

The Victorian premier Daniel Andrews says it was his decision not to invite journalists or key stakeholders on his four-day trip to China and has batted off criticism he had failed to be transparent about the visit.

Andrews this week became the first Australian leader to travel to China since the start of the pandemic and the announcement of the Aukus defence pact, visiting Beijing, Jiangsu and Sichuan before returning on Saturday.

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