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Australia has hosted the Australia Group plenary meeting in Sydney to commemorate forty years working together to prevent the proliferation of chemical and biological weapons.

Established under the Hawke Government in 1985, the Australia Group is a part of Labor’s proud legacy in promoting the non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. Australia convened the first meeting of the group following Iraq’s use of chemical weapons in the Iran-Iraq War, and we continue to serve as permanent chair and secretariat.

The Australia Group has expanded from 15 countries in 1985 to 42 countries and the European Union today. For 40 years, its work has been at the forefront of global efforts to counter the development and use of chemical and biological warfare by harmonising export controls and enhancing cooperation.

Through Australia’s leadership of the group, we have played a pivotal role in preventing the spread of weapons of mass destruction.

At a time of rising global tensions and increasingly complex challenges, the Australia Group remains responsive to dynamic international events and technological developments to ensure it remains ahead of emerging proliferation threats.

The Australia Group’s publicly available common control lists and guidelines set the global benchmark for chemical and biological precursor export controls.

The Australia Group has released a joint statement to commemorate the 40-year anniversary. More information about the Australia Group is available on its website.

We, the signatories listed below, come together with a simple, urgent message: the war in Gaza must end now.

The suffering of civilians in Gaza has reached new depths. The Israeli government’s aid delivery model is dangerous, fuels instability and deprives Gazans of human dignity. We condemn the drip feeding of aid and the inhumane killing of civilians, including children, seeking to meet their most basic needs of water and food. It is horrifying that over 800 Palestinians have been killed while seeking aid. The Israeli Government’s denial of essential humanitarian assistance to the civilian population is unacceptable. Israel must comply with its obligations under international humanitarian law.

The hostages cruelly held captive by Hamas since 7 October 2023 continue to suffer terribly. We condemn their continued detention and call for their immediate and unconditional release. A negotiated ceasefire offers the best hope of bringing them home and ending the agony of their families.

We call on the Israeli government to immediately lift restrictions on the flow of aid and to urgently enable the UN and humanitarian NGOs to do their life saving work safely and effectively.

We call on all parties to protect civilians and uphold the obligations of international humanitarian law. Proposals to remove the Palestinian population into a “humanitarian city” are completely unacceptable. Permanent forced displacement is a violation of international humanitarian law.

We strongly oppose any steps towards territorial or demographic change in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. The E1 settlement plan announced by Israel’s Civil Administration, if implemented, would divide a Palestinian state in two, marking a flagrant breach of international law and critically undermine the two-state solution. Meanwhile, settlement building across the West Bank including East Jerusalem has accelerated while settler violence against Palestinians has soared. This must stop.

We urge the parties and the international community to unite in a common effort to bring this terrible conflict to an end, through an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire. Further bloodshed serves no purpose. We reaffirm our complete support to the efforts of the US, Qatar and Egypt to achieve this.

We are prepared to take further action to support an immediate ceasefire and a political pathway to security and peace for Israelis, Palestinians and the entire region.

This statement has been signed by:

• The Foreign Ministers of Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Greece, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK
• The EU Commissioner for Equality, Preparedness and Crisis Management

Analysis conducted by the Parliamentary Library shows that Labor’s much-touted 20% student-debt cut collapses to a mere 7.9% once indexation since their election in 2022 is accounted for. In other words, the impact of the 20% student debt cut is severely diminished by indexation, even after the Government’s changes to indexation by tying it to the lesser of WPI or CPI.

For a student with a $30,000 student debt in 2022 when the Albanese government came to power, after Labor’s indexation tweaks and the promised 20% debt cut, they will end up with a debt of $27,619 – only 7.9% below what they began with.

The Greens have relentlessly pushed the Albanese Government to deliver desperately needed student debt relief since they came to power, and the pressure has worked in securing the changes to indexation as well as recent commitments to raise the minimum repayment income, introduce a marginal repayment system and cut student debt.

However, Labor’s plans will mean nothing for young people starting a $50,000 arts degree today, whose debt will grow every year due to indexation and take a lifetime to pay off. And effectively only a 7.9% one-off reduction in debt doesn’t even touch the sides of this growing burden.

Senator Mehreen Faruqi, Deputy Leader of the Australian Greens and spokesperson on Higher Education:

“Since the Labor government was elected, an increase in student debt because of indexation means that the promise of 20% reduction effectively shrinks to just 7.9%.

“Labor crowing about a small one-off debt reduction won’t fix the enormous burden of uni fees or student debt that keeps growing every year.

“Of course any student debt relief is better than none, but we are demanding all student debt be wiped and a return to free uni and TAFE, funded by taxing big corporations to pay their fair share.

“In opposition, Labor spoke a big game against the Morrison Government’s fee hikes for degrees like arts, business and law. In Government, they’ve shown their true colours, smashing students with $50,000 arts degrees that grow every year and take a lifetime to pay off.

“If the Labor government is serious about providing relief to students, scrapping the fee hikes of the failed job-ready graduates scheme should be a matter of urgency.

“Wiping all student debt and making Uni free is not radical, it’s common sense. Other countries do it, Australia used to do it. Free university existed in this country and was dismantled by the very party which now expects applause for a paltry repair job.”

The CGT discount needs to be scrapped if Australia has any chance of addressing the housing crisis, the Greens say.

Lines attributable to Senator Nick McKim, Greens Economic Justice Spokesperson:

“The CGT discount is a gift to wealthy investors that’s helped turn housing into a speculative asset, rather than a human right.”

“It’s one of the most destructive tax concessions in the country. It drives up prices, fuels inequality, and helps to shut an entire generation out of home ownership.”

“Labor knows this tax break is contributing to the housing crisis, but they’re too scared to stand up to the property lobby and their big donor mates.”

Senator Barbara Pocock, Greens housing spokesperson:

“If the Government genuinely wants to fix the housing crisis, scrapping the capital gains tax is an essential and long overdue reform.”

“Let’s be clear – this is a tax break for wealthy property investors, a tax break which comes at a cost to first home buyers and owner occupiers. This is also a tax break that increases levels of homelessness, which have increased by 10 percent under this government since it was elected in 2022.”

“Massive tax breaks for wealthy property investors are cooking our housing system. Instead of everyone having a roof over their head, houses have become an investment asset class – which fuels intergenerational inequality.”

“Instead of funding tax breaks for rich property investors, this government could be redirecting funds to building more public and affordable housing.”

“Unless the Government makes the necessary reforms to the tax concessions for property investors, we’ll continue to see house prices rise and rents spiral. The Greens stand ready to work with Labor to action this urgent reform.”

Community sector advocates have revealed in Estimates today that 1000 homes out of Labor’s target of 5000 new affordable homes will be delivered by the private market as part of the land tax concession scheme–a target which community advocates say cannot be reached without greater government investment.

Leader of the ACT Greens, Shane Rattenbury:

“Labor’s target of five thousand new ‘affordable’ homes was already questionable because their definition of affordability already puts half of wage earning Canberrans definitionally into rental stress. 

”But today’s news that it is dependent on private landlords putting up 1000 homes–20% of the target–really highlights the unreliability of the magic pudding maths of Labor’s target.

“This lack of reliability is underlined by the community organisations telling us that they are struggling to support more houses in the scheme, because they are not funded to deliver the volume of service announced.

“It’s clear the government is shirking its own responsibility for delivering affordable housing for Canberrans by over relying on this scheme to deliver.

“Since the launch of the scheme around five years ago, 250 generous Canberrans have offered up their properties for rental through the land-tax concession scheme and the government expects this number to somehow skyrocket to 1000 without any further incentives or any increased funding to housing providers.

“The Greens are clear: we support the land tax concession scheme through and through. It was originally a Greens proposal by my former colleague Caroline Le Couteur, that taps in to the community spirit of property owners in the city

“But the reality is, it simply cannot be the answer to 20% of our affordable housing target in this city–it’s just not realistic.

“Time and time again, we see not just this government, but governments across the country neglecting their role in fixing this cooked housing market by failing to realise that the private market and the community sector alone cannot fix this crisis. The government needs to step in and deliver a funding model for community and public housing that is actually realistic. 

“This news underscores the need for Labor to get real about their target of affordable housing, and fess up that not only is their definition of ‘affordable’ incredibly flawed, but that the target of 5000 contains speculative elements.” 

The Victorian Greens are calling on the Premier to commit to releasing critical documents relating to childcare safety, saying that parents deserve transparency and accountability over political damage control. 

It comes after today the Victorian Labor Premier Jacinta Allan said she will not apologise for failing to meet the deadline to produce documents relating to childcare safety that were requested by the Greens last month prior to horrific allegations of child sexual abuse in the sector. 

The Victorian Greens motion was respectfully worded with sensitivity to children’s privacy and limited in scope to only capture the documents that would be needed to see the full picture of what’s happening in our childcare sector. The same documents were released in New South Wales following a motion from Greens MP Abigail Boyd. 

Labor consistently disobeys the standing orders and defies the rules of the Parliament when it comes to producing documents, but the Greens say that they will be holding them to account and that they must commit to a deadline for releasing critical documents relating to children’s safety. 

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

“Parents are going through hell right now and to hear that the Premier won’t apologise for failing to release documents relating to their children’s safety is shameful.

“The fact the Premier is lashing at the Greens to try and take the heat off herself just proves that Labor is more focussed on politics and damage control than children’s safety.

“The truth is that Labor never provides documents and routinely breaks the rules of the Parliament. For the most part, the rest of us have just had to cope with that. 

“We really thought that this time, given the scale of what’s happening in our childcare system, that Labor would put politics aside and choose transparency for every family that’s living their worst nightmare. 

“Our childcare sector is in crisis and if Labor won’t be honest with Victorian families about what’s going on, how are we meant to fix it? Of all the moments to follow the rules and do the right thing – this should be it.” 

Novocastrians are being asked whether they think the first day of the Newcastle Show should be a local public holiday for the next two years.

City of Newcastle has today launched a survey seeking input from Newcastle residents, businesses, schools, and tourism operators to assess community sentiment and the economic benefits of a proposed public holiday in 2026 and 2027.

City of Newcastle Executive Director Corporate Services David Clarke said a two-year application is a new approach that will be strengthened with broader consultation methods this year.

“The Newcastle Show is a proud tradition that unites our community and is a significant part of the city’s identity, with history dating back to 1901 when the first show was held,” Mr Clarke said.

“We want to hear from residents and businesses about whether they support having a public holiday to mark the occasion.

“Our engagement process will provide a detailed analysis of the impact of the Newcastle Show and build on previous years’ engagement to deliver more opportunities for people to have their say.

“Residents can participate in the survey, share their favourite Newcastle show memories and photos online, or if you’re short on time, simply cast a quick vote in our online poll. 

“As well as meaningful consultation with the community, we’re committed to providing a detailed analysis to understand effects on business activity, employment, tourism and regional promotion.”

City of Newcastle will consult with a broad range of stakeholders including Business Hunter, banks, major employers, schools,local transport providers, and unions, as well as tourism operators, hospitality venues and Business Improvement Associations.

Following consultation, Council will review the results for endorsement before submitting an application to the NSW Government for consideration.

If the day were to be declared a local public holiday in 2026 and 2027 it would apply to all employees whose place of work is within the Newcastle Local Government Area.

Alternatively, a local event day may be declared, as has been the case since 2016. While not a public holiday, a local event day is recognised by employees whose industrial agreements observe it, and any other employers who choose to participate.

You can have your say by completing the online survey here before 5pm on Tuesday 19 August http://haveyoursay.newcastle.nsw.gov.au/newcastle-regional-show-day-2026-and-2027 

The 2026 Newcastle Show will run from Friday 27 February to Sunday 1 March.