Month: July 2025

A Project of Concern Summit was held in Canberra today to support the sustainment of Australia’s Collins class submarines.

Minister for Finance, Senator Katy Gallagher, and Minister for Defence Industry, Pat Conroy, convened the Summit, which was attended by government and industry representatives.

The Albanese Government has committed up to $5 billion over the next decade to extend the life of the Collins class and ensure there is no capability gap until Australia transitions to its future conventionally armed, nuclear-powered submarines. With Collins class submarines required to operate beyond their original design life, an appropriate sustainment plan is also required to ensure they remain among the most capable, conventionally powered submarines in the world.

Defence and the contractor, ASC Pty Ltd, have continued to work on the sustainment plan since Collins class was listed as a Product of Concern in 2024. This includes undertaking activities to build the submarine sustainment workforce and enhance productivity.

Collins class submarine sustainment has previously been a Product of Concern spanning successive governments, from November 2008 until October 2017. 

Since coming to office, the Albanese Government has strengthened and revitalised Defence’s Projects and Products of Concern framework. This is helping to fix challenging projects by providing enhanced Ministerial oversight and bringing Defence and industry together in the national interest.

This is the ninth overall summit held by the Government under the Projects of Concern process.

Minister for Defence Industry, the Hon Pat Conroy MP:

“The former Coalition government did not value this process. Labor has delivered much needed stability to the Defence portfolio which is helping to drive cultural change and deliver capabilities to keep Australians safe.

“This is the ninth overall summit held under the Albanese Government in just over three years, compared to the former Coalition government which only managed to hold four in almost a decade in office.

“ASC is committed to working with Defence to improve Collins class submarine sustainment performance and to effectively deliver safe and high-quality sustainment of Collins class submarines.”

We, Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Andorra, Australia, Canada, Finland, France, Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Malta, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Slovenia and Spain,

Condemn the heinous and antisemitic terrorist attack of October 7th, 2023;

Demand an immediate ceasefire, the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages of Hamas, including the remains, as well as ensuring unhindered humanitarian access;

Reiterate our unwavering commitment to the vision of the two-State solution where two democratic States, Israel and Palestine, live side by side in peace within secure and recognized borders, consistent with international law and relevant UN resolutions, and in this regard stress the importance of unifying the Gaza Strip with the West Bank under the Palestinian Authority;

Express grave concern over the high number of civilian casualties and humanitarian situation in Gaza and emphasize the essential role of the United Nations and its agencies in facilitating humanitarian assistance;

Welcome the commitments made by the President of the Palestinian Authority on June 10th where he (i) condemns the October 7th terrorist attacks (ii) calls for the liberation of hostages and disarmament of Hamas (iii) commits to terminate the prisoner payment system (iv) commits to schooling reform, (v) commits to call for elections within a year to trigger generational renewal and (vi) accepts the principle of a demilitarized Palestinian State;

Ahead of the meeting of the Heads of State and Government that will take place during the high-level week of the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA 80) in September 2025, we, Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Andorra, Australia, Canada, Finland, France, Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Malta, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Slovenia and Spain,
Have already recognized, have expressed or express the willingness or the positive consideration of our countries to recognize the State of Palestine, as an essential step towards the two-State solution, and invite all countries that have not done so to join this call;

Urge countries who have not done so yet to establish normal relations with Israel, and to express their willingness to enter into discussions on the regional integration of the State of Israel;

Express our determination to work on an architecture for the “day after” in Gaza which guarantees the reconstruction of Gaza, the disarmament of Hamas and its exclusion from the Palestinian governance.

On World Day Against Trafficking in Persons, the Albanese Government reaffirms its commitment to combatting human trafficking and modern slavery in all its forms.

This year’s theme, ‘Human trafficking is Organized Crime – End the Exploitation’, highlights the growing links between human trafficking and other serious transnational crimes.

The Australian Government has zero tolerance for any form of exploitation and is taking strong action to address modern slavery, including human trafficking and forced labour, both at home and around the world.

Australia is deeply concerned about the growth of trafficking in persons into online scam centres for forced criminality. Many of these scam centres are operating across our region – to defraud and steal from people, including Australians.

Online scam centres have become one of the world’s biggest illicit industries, spurring cyber-enabled money laundering and underground banking and fuelling the illicit drug trade.

Domestically, our Scams Prevention Framework, passed in February, introduces world-leading protections for Australian consumers. The National Anti-Scam Centre is working with government, industry, other regulators, law enforcement and community organisations to disrupt criminal operations and protect Australians.

Internationally, Australia continues to partner with governments and organisations to combat trafficking, share intelligence and support victims – including through the ASEAN-Australia Counter Trafficking program and the Bali Process, which we co-chair with Indonesia.

If you suspect that you or someone you know is being trafficked, call the police on 131 237 (131 AFP) or report online.

Help is available, even if you are not sure it is human trafficking.

Learn more about Australia’s response to human trafficking and other forms of modern slavery.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Senator Penny Wong:

“Today, we reaffirm our commitment to the victims and survivors of human trafficking and modern slavery, to continue combatting this global scourge in all its forms.

“Human trafficking and modern slavery affect more than 50 million people worldwide.

“The Albanese Government is taking strong action to protect Australians and support partners in our region. Our world first ASEAN-Australia Counter Trafficking program and our co-leadership of the Bali Process is dismantling trafficking networks, disrupting online scam syndicates and supporting victims and survivors.”

Attorney-General Michelle Rowland MP:

“The Australian Government is taking significant steps to prevent, disrupt, investigate and prosecute human trafficking and other forms of modern slavery, and to support and protect victims and survivors.”

“This includes requiring large business to report on action to address these crimes under the Modern Slavery Act 2018.

“Australia stands with victims of these abhorrent crimes and remains committed to providing victim-centred support and protection.”

the Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Financial Services Dr Daniel Mulino MP:

“The Australian Government is making a significant investment in preventing scams and it is already having an impact.

“We want to prevent people being harmed by scams and are putting in place world leading measures to help keep Australians safe – our Scams Prevention Framework, legislated in February this year, will establish world leading consumer protections against scams.”

I am pleased to announce the next phase of the New Colombo Plan (NCP), which will further strengthen Australia’s Indo-Pacific capability and Asia literacy.

Launched in 2014, the New Colombo Plan has supported over 55,000 Australian undergraduate students through study, internships and language training in the Indo-Pacific.

From 2026, we will further increase scholarship numbers, place greater emphasis on students learning Asian languages and prioritise long-term immersive experiences.

The next phase of the New Colombo Plan will focus on ensuring recipients develop the skills and capabilities Australia needs to deepen our national understanding of the region, strengthen the ties between our people, and increase engagement with Australian businesses operating in the region.

These reforms also support implementation of key recommendations from Invested: Australia’s Southeast Asia Economic Strategy to 2040.

Key elements of the reforms include:

• increasing the number of scholarships to 500 per year by 2028, creating a larger cohort of Australians with deeper Indo-Pacific capability;
• introducing a new NCP Semester Program to encourage students to undertake longer experiences in the region;
• creating a language learning target across the program to boost the learning of priority Asian languages;
• increasing engagement with Australia’s transnational education presence in the Indo-Pacific, allowing for NCP programs to be undertaken at Australian offshore campuses in the region; and
• providing program support funding to Australian universities and university consortia to assist with the development of Indo-Pacific capability and priority Asian language course offerings.

Additional consideration will be given to locations where Australia is seeking to deepen engagement, as well as those focusing on priority Asian languages and economic sectors.

The program will also deepen business engagement by providing stronger private sector links and employment pathways for NCP students.

These reforms have been informed by recommendations of the NCP External Advisory Group, chaired by the Hon Tim Watts MP. I thank the members of the External Advisory Group for their important contributions to these reforms.

Grant guidelines for the 2026 rounds of the New Colombo Plan Scholarship, Semester and Mobility programs will be published in August 2025.

The Victorian Greens will lead the charge of a powerful inquiry into Victoria’s early childhood education and care (ECEC) system, after a motion to establish a select committee successfully passed the Legislative Council. 

The Greens say that a select committee was urgently needed to fill the gaping holes in Labor’s narrow departmental review – which fails to examine the role of the Department of Education as regulator. The move comes after further revelations today that complaints regarding supervision were ignored while children were being harmed in care.

The committee will provide greater transparency with the powers to call for documents, compel witnesses and experts. It invites the community’s voices to be heard with parents and educators able to participate and a final report to be made available by 30 July 2026. 

The terms of reference for the inquiry to investigate include: 

• Whether current safety and quality standards in early childhood services are adequate

• The quality and oversight of educator training, qualifications, and Working with Children Checks
• How privatisation impacts affordability, accessibility, safety and outcomes – compared with public and not-for-profit models
• Educator workforce conditions, including pay, workload, job security and how this affects retention and quality
• Whether current staff-to-child ratios are appropriate and applied correctly across services
• The role of the Department of Education in monitoring services and maintaining child safety broader issues around how child safety standards are implemented, enforced and complied with across the sector

The Greens said that while urgent reforms to improve safety and oversight must begin now, the inquiry will ensure those reforms are grounded in transparency and accountability, not political damage control.

Victorian Greens spokesperson for Early Childhood, Anasina Gray-Barberio: 

“The Greens have led the charge to get this inquiry up because families deserve real answers, not the Labor government marking its own homework behind closed doors.”

“Labor has been dodging accountability, finding every excuse not to produce key documents, but this independent inquiry will help hold them to account and make sure nothing is swept under the rug.”

“We’ve heard too many stories of children being harmed while complaints were ignored. This inquiry will help uncover what’s gone wrong and how we fix it.”

The Greens say that Labor must stop hiding behind excuses and urgently commit to releasing documents following explosive reports regarding complaints made to the Department of Education.

Reports in the Age today reveal that the Department of Education received a complaint in 2022 about serious supervision failures at a centre where accused paedophile Joshua Brown allegedly sexually abused children.

These complaints are exactly the kind of documents that the Greens requested via a parliamentary order last month which the government failed to meet the deadline on releasing.

The Attorney-General tabled a letter yesterday with a copy-paste excuse saying that there was insufficient time to meet the request and the Premier told Parliament there were “too many documents.”

The Greens say that when it comes to the safety of children, these documents are too important to be ignored and have proposed that Labor release the documents in tranches, which is how similar documents were revealed in New South Wales.

This process will allows the time required to carefully redact sensitive information, protect children’s privacy, and ensure transparency is delivered in a realistic, staged way.

The Victorian Greens spokesperson for Early Childhood, Anasina Gray-Barberio said that not releasing these documents is impossible to defend, and that if this is what’s uncovered from one complaint, one whistleblower, it makes you wonder what else in those documents that the Labor Government doesn’t want us to see.

Victorian Greens spokesperson for Early Childhood, Anasina Gray-Barberio:

“This is exactly why we’re pushing for these documents to be released – to expose the red flags that were ignored while children were being harmed. Labor’s refusal to release them is starting to look like a cover-up.”

“If Labor cares about children’s safety and fixing this system they need to commit to working with us on a way we can release these documents in a safe and realistic way.”

“In New South Wales, similar documents were released in tranches. There’s no reason we can’t do the same here.”

“The longer Labor stalls, the more people are asking, what’s in those documents that they don’t want us to see?”