Australian News – Page 14

Interest rate hike forecast confirms cost of Albanese active inflation agenda

“The Albanese government’s spending addiction to feed their active inflation agenda has led the National Australia Bank to forecast interest rate hikes in September, exactly when households and small business can least afford higher interest rates and supermarket prices”, said Shadow Treasurer, Tim Wilson.

Mr Wilson’s comments come as the National Australia Bank forecasts the Reserve Bank will raise the cash rate in the wake of stubborn underlying inflation.

“The Albanese government’s game of interest rate chicken is forcing the RBA to keep rates higher for longer, and likely to lead to further rate hikes for Australian families and small business, who are already struggling with mortgages and supermarket prices”, Mr Wilson said.

“The Albanese government’s active inflation agenda is designed to stoke inflation, tax inflation and spend inflation in a vicious cycle that keeps Australians poorer. Now, economists are saying it is going to send interest rates up for the 16th time, and to their highest levels under this government”.

“Australian families and small business cannot afford another rate rise, and they cannot afford Labor’s active inflation agenda”.

“Underlying inflation has remained above the RBA’s target band for 14 of the 17 quarters under this government. Anthony Albanese has the worst inflation record of any government since the introduction of the target band”.

“The amount of money that Albanese and Chalmers keep pouring into the economy directly correlates to the higher prices families have to pay at the checkout, and higher interest rates”.

“The RBA has consistently said that inflation was too high before the Middle East crisis began, and Australians now have to pay the price of the government’s reckless economic agenda”.

‘Keel laying’ for Australia’s first Hunter class frigate

The Albanese Government has marked a significant milestone in delivering Australia’s future surface combatant fleet today, with the laying of the keel for the first Hunter class frigate at South Australia’s Osborne Naval Shipyard.

Honouring a centuries-old naval tradition, the keel laying sees a coin placed beneath the keel of the ship to bestow good fortune on the vessel during its construction and throughout its life at sea.

Construction of the Hunter class frigates is part of the Albanese Government’s commitment to continuous naval shipbuilding in South Australia and the delivery of a larger and more lethal surface combatant fleet for the Royal Australian Navy.

The Hunter class will provide Navy with an advanced anti-submarine warfare capability, one of the most important capabilities for Australia’s maritime security, and strengthen our ability to operate alongside allies and partners.

This program, being delivered by BAE Systems Maritime Australia, is directly supporting more than 2,500 jobs, with the majority of the workforce based in South Australia. An additional 5,000 Australian industry jobs are being supported through the supply chain for the build.

The Hunter class fleet will also integrate Australian‑made radar technology and advanced combat system elements from the United States.

Construction of 20 of the first ship’s 22 blocks is already underway, which will see the Royal Australian Navy receive the first Hunter class frigate in the early 2030s.

Deputy Prime Minister, Richard Marles:

“Today’s milestone is a vital step forward for the Australian workers building these ships, the men and women who will serve on them, and our nation’s future maritime security.

“The laying of the keel for the first Hunter class frigate demonstrates tangible progress in the delivery of a more capable, lethal and resilient surface combatant fleet for Australia.

“The Hunter class frigates will provide a world-class anti-submarine warfare capability, designed to operate in complex maritime environments.”

Minister for Defence Industry, Pat Conroy:

“This Hunter class frigate program is already supporting thousands of high-skilled and well-paid jobs. So, this is a landmark moment that demonstrates Australia already has the skilled workforce needed to undertake complex projects like this.

“The Hunter class frigate program is a critical part of the Albanese Government’s plan for giving the Navy the capabilities it needs to help keep Australia safe. It’s also about supporting continuous naval shipbuilding and contributing a secure future made in Australia.

“Through the construction of the Hunter frigates, we are strengthening South Australia’s role as a national centre for complex naval shipbuilding and supporting skilled Australian jobs across the broader national supply chain.”

Premier of South Australia, Peter Malinauskas:

“This is a momentous day for South Australian shipbuilding.

“More than 2,500 highly skilled men and women are now working at Osborne building the Hunter Frigates, a massive undertaking that represents the start of continuous naval shipbuilding here in Adelaide.

“BAE have almost 600 tradespeople now working on this project — some of them young people trained up at our remarkable Technical Colleges, and now locked into well paid, interesting lifelong careers. And there’s still AUKUS to come.

“Recruiting the workforce for these tasks represents a massive challenge. But it is also a massive opportunity for our state, and we are working hand in hand with the Albanese Government to ensure we can capitalise on it.”

AEMO warning blow hole in Labor’s reckless data centre frenzy

The Victorian Greens say explosive new forecasts showing data centres could consume 13 per cent of electricity on the national grid within a decade make it clear that Labor must immediately halt its reckless fast-tracking of new data centres.

New AEMO forecasts show the number of proposed data centres seeking to connect to the national electricity market has more than doubled in just a year, from 97 to 225.

By 2036, data centres are now expected to consume 34TWh of electricity – almost as much as every household in Victoria and NSW currently uses combined.

The Greens say the extraordinary revision shows governments have completely underestimated the speed and scale of the data centre boom, while the Victorian Labor Government has been actively courting the industry and fast-tracking new developments.

The Victorian Greens have introduced legislation to Parliament for an immediate moratorium on new large-scale data centres while proper rules are put in place around energy, water, planning and community impacts.

In addition, they have put forward a parliamentary documents motion and FOI requests for any modelling forecasting the impacts of data centres including energy usage.

Victorian Greens AI and data centres spokesperson, Dr Sarah Mansfield:

“AEMO has just sounded the alarm on exactly what we’ve been warning about – the scale of this data centre boom is completely out of control. Labor has been approving first and asking questions later. These figures show how reckless that is.

“In just twelve months the number of projects in the pipeline has more than doubled and forecasts for their electricity use have skyrocketed. Yet Labor’s response in Victoria has been to roll out the red carpet and fast-track as many as possible.

“We are trying to replace coal, electrify homes and businesses and bring power bills down. Allowing multinational tech corporations to suddenly swallow 13 per cent of the grid fundamentally changes that task.

“Ben Carroll should close the floodgates he’s swung open for Big Tech and instead support the Greens’ moratorium today. Anything short of that is Labor saying they are fine with watching Victorians bills go up and our clean energy transition put at risk.”

Youth spaces mapping will only have impact if followed by funding: Greens

The Greens welcome today’s announcement that Youth Action will lead the first statewide mapping of youth spaces across NSW, but say the NSW Government must fund the gaps it finds.

Youth Action will lead the statewide project, funded by the NSW Office for Youth, mapping youth hubs and informal gathering spaces where young people connect, participate and access support across NSW.

NSW Greens spokesperson for Youth and Mental Health, Dr Amanda Cohn, says the findings can only make a difference to young people if the NSW Government commits to funding the gaps it uncovers.

Dr Cohn said the mapping was a welcome first step, which will highlight many of the gaps we already know exist, like safe spaces for young people who are LGBTQIA+, or living in regional communities.

“It will come as no surprise when this mapping project identifies significant gaps where young people don’t have spaces to connect safely in the community.”

“The government has funded this research project, but they must also commit to funding the gaps that research identifies for it to have any impact.”

“This investment would make an enormous difference for the mental health and wellbeing of young people, as well as preventing escalation to crisis.”

AEMO warning blow hole in Labor’s reckless data centre frenzy

New AEMO forecasts show the number of proposed data centres seeking to connect to the national electricity market has more than doubled in just a year, from 97 to 225.

By 2036, data centres are now expected to consume 34TWh of electricity – almost as much as every household in Victoria and NSW currently uses combined.

In addition, they have put forward a parliamentary documents motion and FOI requests for any modelling forecasting the impacts of data centres including energy usage.

Victorian Greens AI and data centres spokesperson, Dr Sarah Mansfield:

National Cabinet cannot keep ignoring women’s safety

Tomorrow’s National Cabinet must show that governments will act on the scale of the epidemic of violence in Australia, before it is too late.

Two years ago, prompted by public outrage over a rise in women being murdered and assaulted the federal government commissioned a Rapid Review and convened an urgent National Cabinet meeting to address gendered violence.

Despite the urgency required, many of the commitments made at that National Cabinet meeting remain unfinished or ignored, with Women’s Safety Ministers recently giving themselves a further year to report back on progress.

Senator Larissa Waters, Australian Greens Leader and Spokesperson on Women said:

“In the last two weeks in Australia, we have been bombarded by devastating headline after devastating headline, each one leaving women feeling less safe in their communities.

“Two years on from the last urgent National Cabinet meeting to address gendered violence, commitments remain unimplemented and underfunded. And they just gave themselves a one year extension to report – so much for this being an urgent crisis.

“Tomorrow’s National Cabinet must commit to fully fund frontline services so no woman or child is turned away when they seek to escape violence, and to increase funding for prevention work to address the worrying slide in attitudes to violence, particularly by young men.

“Every day, underfunded services are forced to turn women away or put them on unacceptably long wait lists. Every week 225 women and children are turned away from crisis accommodation. Every barrier and delay is traumatic and makes women less safe.

“DV NSW has consistently called for a 50% uplift in funding, given referrals to frontline services have increased by at least 22% while the frontline DFSV workforce in NSW has been reduced by 12%. In Victoria, Safe and Equal estimates that a 62% funding increase is needed to fully meet demand in Victoria. In Queensland, the government has recently cut funding to prevention services, and threatened services who complained.

“We need to fully fund the frontline services that do the hard work to support the women and children who experience it, and invest more deeply in programs to prevent violence.

“Too many women and children are being killed by violence, primarily by men and most often by someone known to them, to wait any longer. We don’t need more ideas, we need the funding and the political will to turn them into action.

“The government seems to always be able to find money for war but when it comes to keeping women safe or helping us recover, Labor cries poor.”

Another budget landmine exposed: New super tax to feed Albanese spending addiction

“The Albanese government has been caught laying yet another tax landmine in its Budget to feed its spending addiction, and this time it’s targeting superannuation” said Shadow Treasurer, Tim Wilson.

Mr Wilson’s comments come in the wake of reporting in The Australian that Labor’s capital gains changes contain a hidden tax on superannuation. The Treasury estimates it will add $372 billion of new taxes to Australian’s retirement savings.

“The Albanese government can’t stop taxing because he can’t stop spending and our trillion dollar Treasurer keeps digging us into a debt hole”, Mr Wilson said.

“On top of the taxes targeting small businesses, family savings, and rents, the Albanese government’s Budget has been filled with secret tax landlines that are being revealed:

A death tax targeting family savings.
A widow’s and divorce tax that hits family savings.
A hidden super tax that undermines family savings”.

“Labor thinks super is their money, and they’ll rig the rules to ensure Australian’s super goes into the funds their mates control, and tax anyone who wants to control their own retirement”.

“These tax hits are all about feeding the Prime Minister and Treasurer’s spending addiction which stokes inflation and destroys Australian’s standard of living”.

Albanese and Cook Governments select site of the Henderson Defence Precinct

The Albanese and Cook Governments are today announcing the selection of the site for the new Defence Precinct at Henderson – supporting thousands of well‑paid, highly skilled jobs, and delivering continuous naval shipbuilding and sustainment in Western Australia for generations to come.

The site layout includes the preferred location for the Government’s naval shipbuilding and sustainment activities, and for the sustainment of Australia’s future conventionally armed nuclear-powered submarines, representing an important milestone in the delivery of AUKUS.

The Defence Precinct at Henderson is where critical maritime capabilities for the Australian Defence Force will be built, including Navy’s future general purpose frigates and Army’s Landing Craft. These capabilities will be vital to delivering a more integrated and capable Defence Force.

The selection of the site has been informed by technical analysis and thorough engagement between the Albanese and Cook Governments, local industry and workers, traditional owners, and local community groups.

All of this is underpinned by billions of dollars of investment in Defence capabilities and infrastructure in the West being made by the Albanese Government, including an initial $12 billion funding commitment to deliver the Defence Precinct, announced in September 2025.

Alongside the Albanese Government’s record investments across shipbuilding and AUKUS, these commitments will support around 10,000 direct jobs over the next two decades in Western Australia.

The program to deliver the Defence Precinct will now progress into a concept design phase, which will see further engagement between the federal and state governments, local industry, technical design and planning partners, and other key stakeholders.

The Albanese and Cook Governments are committed to minimising potential impacts to local business operations, including non‑Defence industry, as they work together to deliver this important national endeavour, and its opportunities for Western Australia and the nation.

A copy of the map is available here: http://images.defence.gov.au/S20262634

For more information visit: Henderson Defence Precinct | Business & Industry | Defence

Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese

“This is great for Western Australia and great for local jobs.

“AUKUS is full steam ahead and we are proud to deliver this milestone today alongside our partner, the Cook Government.”

Minister for Defence, Richard Marles

“The selection of the site for the Henderson Defence Precinct is a major step towards establishing a world-class sovereign shipbuilding and sustainment hub in Western Australia.

“This decision allows the next phase of planning and development of the precinct to progress at pace, so we can deliver the infrastructure needed to support continuous naval shipbuilding and sustainment in the West, and develop the capability to own, operate and sustain conventionally armed, nuclear-powered submarines.

“All of this is critical to strengthening Australia’s sovereign defence industrial base, supporting thousands of local jobs, and delivering the maritime capabilities needed to keep Australians safe.”

Minister for Defence Industry, Pat Conroy

“This milestone demonstrates the Australian and Western Australian Governments’ collective commitment to delivering what will be a major industrial hub in the West.

“The Henderson Defence Precinct will deliver and sustain some of the ADF’s most lethal and advanced capabilities, while supporting thousands of skilled jobs and providing opportunities for businesses in the supply chain.”

Premier of Western Australia, Roger Cook

“My vision is for Western Australia to become the largest naval maintenance and shipbuilding hub in the southern hemisphere.

“Over the next decade, defence is set to become Western Australia’s second largest industry, helping us remain the strongest economy in the nation and the best place in the world to get a quality job.

“Today’s announcement is an important milestone that will enable both government and industry to get on with the job in securing this massive economic opportunity for Western Australia.”

WA Transport and Major Infrastructure Minister Rita Saffioti

“The Henderson Defence Precinct is another major vote of confidence in Western Australia’s ability to deliver complex infrastructure projects, expanding our role as a global leader in the maritime and defence industries.

“This investment will support thousands of construction and manufacturing jobs over the coming decades, providing lifelong careers for people in Perth’s southern corridor.”

WA Minister Assisting the Minister for Defence Industries Amber-Jade Sanderson

“This precinct will be the centre of Western Australia’s growing defence industries sector.

“With support for advanced manufacturing and major investment in skills and training, our Government is ensuring that WA businesses and workers are at the front of the line for the opportunities that AUKUS presents.”

Blue poles heads west

One of the national collection’s most iconic and cherished paintings, Blue poles, will travel across the country thanks to the Albanese Labor Government’s Sharing the National Collection program.

The work, which has never been seen in Western Australia, will go on display at the Art Gallery of Western Australia in Perth from April to September 2027.

Valued in 2023 at $500 million, Blue poles by American Abstract Expressionist artist, Jackson Pollock was purchased by the Australian Government in 1973.

This is the first time the painting has been loaned to an Australian venue by the National Gallery since 2003. With critical capital works already underway at the gallery, the loan will ensure that the work remains on display rather than being placed into storage.

As of 30 June 2026, more than 2.1 million Australians have engaged with more than 327 Sharing the National Collection loans which includes Australian and international works to 42 galleries and cultural venues across every state and territory.

The reaction from audiences and venue partners has been overwhelmingly positive with galleries reporting increases in visitor numbers of up to 51% for their exhibitions showcasing works from the national collection.

This includes sharing more than 50 pieces by legendary American artist Andy Warhol – including his iconic Campbell’s Soup and life-size Elvis works – with the Wanneroo Regional Gallery in 2024, which saw a 750 per cent increase in visitor numbers in the first four months.

the Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese

“Blue poles changed our nation, so it makes sense that the nation gets to see it.

“The national collection belongs to every Australian – no matter where they live.

“That’s why we’re sending Blue poles to Perth, making sure the west can enjoy this masterpiece and important part of our national story.”

to the Minister for the Arts, Tony Burke

“Blue poles was railed against at the time as a waste of money and has proven itself to be one of the smartest investments the National Gallery has ever made.

“The greatest works in the world shouldn’t only be seen in private collections. We are a proud and important creative nation. Australians have a right to know that our national collection is world class, just as they have a right to know that as a national collection, it won’t only live in Canberra but will be shared with the whole of the nation.”

the National Gallery of Australia, Dr Nick Mitzevich

“When Jackson Pollock’s Blue poles entered the national collection, it signalled ambition, confidence and belief in the importance of art to national life. More than 50 years later, sharing this extraordinary work with audiences across Australia sustains that vision.

“Through the Sharing the National Collection program and with the support of the Australian Government, we are proud to bring one of the Gallery’s most significant works to Australian audiences in Western Australia – who otherwise may never have the opportunity to see it.”

Sharing the National Collection is part of Revive, Australia’s National Cultural Policy.

Opening of Solomon Islands Western Border Outpost facility

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence, Richard Marles, and Solomon Island’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Public Service, the Hon Francis Sade, officially opened the Western Border Outpost today in the Shortland Islands, Solomon Islands.

The Western Border Outpost is a jointly delivered infrastructure project between the Australian and Solomon Islands governments. This new facility brings together the Royal Solomon Islands Police Force (RSIPF), Customs, Immigration, and Biosecurity officials in a single location, enhancing interagency coordination and strengthening border management operations that help keep Solomon Islands secure.

Minister for Police, National Security and Correctional Services, the Hon John Tuhaika Jnr., and Minister of Commerce, Industry, Labour & Immigration, the Hon Harry Kuma also attended the opening ceremony.

The new facility will support Solomon Islands to strengthen border management and maritime security, marking a significant milestone in the longstanding security partnership between the two nations. Once handed over, this will be a sovereign Solomon Islands facility.

Australia is investing more than $100 million (AUD) towards the project, which will also provide offices, accommodation and a wharf capable of supporting Solomon Islands’ Guardian-class Patrol Boats.

In partnership with the Solomon Islands Government, this project has created lasting benefits for local communities including 368 jobs created and more than 1,000 contracts awarded to local businesses.

Australia is proud to support the broad range of initiatives that strengthen Solomon Islands’ national security capabilities and support the growth of the RSIPF.

Deputy Prime Minister, Richard Marles:

“The official opening of the Western Border Outpost marks an important milestone in Australia’s longstanding partnership with Solomon Islands.

“This new facility will support Solomon Islands to strengthen border management and maritime security while delivering real benefits for its people.

“It stands as a practical demonstration of what Australia and Solomon Islands can achieve together and provides a sovereign asset for Solomon Islands to use to strengthen its security.”