Category: Australian News

In New Delhi, I announced the inaugural Maitri Fellowships program to support the two-way exchange of Australian and Indian researchers.

These foreign and trade policy placements in Australia and India will build academic capacity and deepen understanding of contemporary perspectives in each country.

Research will focus on economic trends and issues of geostrategic interest to Australia and India.

Eligible Australian institutions are invited to nominate experts for placement. The program has three streams:

• long-term fellowships (1-2 years) for Indian senior researchers to come to Australia
• short-term fellowships (up to 6 months) for Indian early to mid-career researchers to come to Australia
• short-term fellowships (up to 6 months) for Australian early to mid-career researchers to go to India.

The Maitri Fellowships program is administered by the Centre for Australia-India Relations. Further details can be found at australiaindiacentre.org.au.

Foreign Minister, Senator the Hon Senator Penny Wong said:

“The Maitri Fellowships program is an investment by the Australian Government in a broader and deeper understanding of the Australia-India relationship, our shared interests and shared challenges.

“As the partnership between our two countries grows, the importance of this understanding is ever more important”

Centre for Australia-India Relations CEO Tim Thomas said:

“The Centre for Australia-India Relations is committed to fostering mutual understanding of Australia and India through informed public commentary and debate.”

A slice of Bollywood in Brisbane or a splash of Melbourne in Mumbai is now on the cards for filmmakers thanks to a new agreement between Australia and India.

Australia’s film industry will benefit from an exciting new partnership with India – following the ratification of the Australia-India Audio-visual Co-production Agreement.

The treaty-level agreement will strengthen collaboration and creative exchange between Australia and India, allowing more films and television series to showcase the best of both cultures, landscapes and people.

The agreement will strengthen the existing ties between the Australian and Indian film industries, assist Australian producers reach new audiences, and Australian audiences to connect with new stories.

The agreement – announced by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in March – will also open up new avenues for industry investment and help distribution for Australian producers in one of the world’s largest and growing markets.

Projects in both countries will be able to access government funding including grants, loans and tax offsets under the agreement.

Since the inception of the co-production program in Australia almost 40 years ago, formal arrangements have been signed with 14 countries, leading to the creation of 214 official co-production titles with total budgets of more than $2 billion.

For more information about the International Co-production Program visit Screen Australia.

Minister for Foreign Affairs, Senator the Hon Penny Wong said:

“I’m very excited to see yet another great outcome for the Australian film industry, and the Australia-India relationship.”

“Our two countries enjoy deep and enduring cultural ties. We’re proud to have a large and growing Indian community here in Australia and this agreement will only see our links strengthen further and bringing our people even closer together.”

Minister for the Arts, Tony Burke MP said:

“India is a global film powerhouse and this agreement is great news for the Australian screen industry.”

“As a long-time Bollywood fan, I can’t wait to see how this plays out and know this will be a gamechanger for both Australian and Indian filmmakers.”

Australians are only going backwards under this Albanese Government, and Victorians are being hit the hardest of all.

Despite the Prime Minister’s promise that Australians would be better off under Labor, new analysis has shown that Victorians are $1,100 worse off compared to their counterparts in New South Wales.

This comes at the same time as new analysis of ABS State Accounts data which revealed that in the year to June 2023, Victorians faced the fastest decline in real household disposable income per person, at a rate of 6.5 per cent.

Chair of the Cost of Living Committee and Liberal Senator for Victoria Jane Hume said that it is going to be a really tough Christmas period for many Victorian families because of Labor’s cost of living crisis.

“We know that mortgage stress is increasing, real wages are going backwards, and the price of everything is going up. Now we have analysis to show just how much the average Victorian is worse off under Labor.

“The Cost of Living Committee has repeatedly heard from charities that they are seeing record demands on their services, now from families with two incomes, and some even with mortgages. At Christmas, those services will be busier than ever and from these numbers we can expect Victorians will see the worst of it.

“We have consistently heard that the best thing the Government can do to help take the burden off these charities and help families is to get inflation down. That is the only way we take pressure off the RBA so they don’t have to keep raising interest rates.

“Both the state and federal Labor Governments need to own up to the damage they have done to our state. Victorians are clearly worse off under Labor.”

The Albanese Labor Government continues to politicise the health of regional Australians rather than take real action, Shadow Assistant Minister for Regional Health Anne Webster says.

On Wednesday, Health Minister Mark Butler will announce a review into the Monash Modified Model, the District of Workforce Shortage and Distribution Priority Areas (DPAs), which effect the distribution of doctors throughout Australia.

“I have been calling for a review of all of these challenges for months but Minister Butler fails to acknowledge his Government bled the regions of doctors by expanding the DPAs,” Dr Webster said.

“He opened the door for International Medical Graduate Doctors to leave the regions for peri-urban settings, with exits from regions increasing by 57 per cent in the first 6 months after his policy change. This has been a major factor in GP clinics closing in Mallee and around Australia.

“Regional health is in crisis, as I have been saying since my appointment as Shadow Assistant Minister in December. Action and funding is needed to address regional health issues now, not after another review that will only confirm what regional Australians and our health workforce already know. In fact, the Coalition set a number of these reviews in motion 20 months ago.

The Minister’s announcement comes after the Coalition-instigated Strengthening Medicare Taskforce which recommended the creation of an independent workforce planning agency, expanded training pathways for doctors in regional and remote areas and greater incentives for practitioners to work in regional Australia. These were already key initiatives of the Coalition Stronger Rural Health Strategy.

“Minister Butler’s proposed Distribution and Thin Markets Review shows how thin the Albanese Labor government has been on action, thin on funding and thin on caring about the plight of regional Australians,” Dr Webster said.

“The Coalition’s strategy included a range of incentives, targeted funding and bonding arrangements that give doctors more opportunities to train and practice in rural Australia. It also strengthened the role of nurses and allied health professionals to deliver more multidisciplinary, team-based models of primary health care. Initiatives such as the Murray-Darling Medical Schools Network, Junior Doctor Training Program and More Doctors for Rural Australia program were all targeted to improve access to doctors for people in regional Australia.

“Regional Australians collectively are missing over $6.55 billion annually in spending on healthcare access compared to those in the city, according to the Nous Report commissioned by the National Rural Health Alliance.

“Without doctors providing primary care in regional Australia, the health costs are falling on stretched regional emergency departments. Only 6.5 per cent of total Government health funding goes to General Practice. Government spending on an equivalent visit to the GP is $80 compared to an Emergency Department visit for the same illness at over $600. Primary Care needs more funding as it keeps people out of hospital. Funding for Regional Primary Care is essential for efficient and effective regional health care delivery.”

Economist Chris Richardson, during his appearance on ABC’s program Q&A, stated that immigration is exacerbating the housing market’s troubles in Australia. One Nation has consistently argued that the housing crisis stems from excessive immigration without the parallel construction of new homes—a point frequently raised by the party.

Richardson acknowledged a connection, noting that Australia’s mismanagement of housing over the past four decades suggests a need to reconsider immigration policies. “For 40 years, we’ve transformed housing into a source of anguish, marking a profound national failure,” he asserted.

Whenever there’s support for the call to reduce immigration, One Nation feels compelled to share this development widely.

Richardson’s remarks came with a caveat: “Ideally, I’d prefer not to limit migration, but our colossal national mishandling means we must temporarily address immigration as part of the solution.”

The discussion with Richardson honed in on establishing a condition (perhaps legally) between immigration and housing availability.

One Nation’s stance is to address the backlog in housing demand before contemplating a rise in immigration. Furthermore, the party maintains that the economy should be able to finance and establish the infrastructure necessary to support housing people, including educational institutions, hospitals, and law enforcement. Additionally, One Nation says that Australia should achieve full employment before considering an increase in immigration levels.

The Greens have backed Australian Education Union calls for Commonwealth, states and territories to close the public school funding gap, but have called for greater ambition and urgency.

A new report shows the public system will continue to be underfunded by $6 billion a year under current agreements. The AEU has called for full funding to all public schools by 2028, but the Greens say funding should be delivered at the start of the next National School Reform Agreement (NSRA), in January 2025.

A recent Greens-commissioned poll found that almost two-thirds of Australian parents believe the public school system is underfunded, while half of all private school parents would move their children to a public school if the system was properly funded.

Greens Education (Primary & Secondary) spokesperson, Senator Penny Allman-Payne said:

“A free and high-quality public education should be a bedrock of any thriving democracy, not a nice-to-have that’s conditional on who’s in government or which way the political winds are blowing.

“The 2011 Gonski reforms were held up as the solution to end funding inequities in the school system, but it was undermined by Labor from the start, which capitulated to the Catholic and Independent school sectors, and further eroded under a decade of Coalition rule.

“Declining student engagement, teacher shortages, falling scores, school can’t, disruption in the classroom – these are all directly linked to the fact that teachers do not have the resources and support they require to give kids the attention and care they need.

“Public schools have been underfunded for decades. Why should students, parents, carers and teachers wait another five years for the bare minimum resources they deserve?

“With the new NSRA due next year, and Labor in power federally and in every mainland state and territory, this is the perfect opportunity to end decades of decline and fully fund the public education system.

“Labor must deliver 100% funding to all public schools at the start of the next NSRA in January 2025.”

Senator Sarah Hanson-Young is Chair of the Senate Inquiry into the Optus outage and Greens spokesperson for communications:

“I’d like to thank the former CEO of Optus for fronting up in person to the Senate Inquiry last week to answer questions. 

“This was never about which individual is CEO, this is about ensuring millions of Australians have access to what is an essential service; including the ability to call 000 in an emergency, access government services, contact loved ones, and make and take essential payments. 

“The Senate Inquiry will continue to focus on solutions, including stronger regulations for telecommunications companies, so that in the evident of outages and network failures the community can have confidence that their public interests and safety is protected.”

The Liberals’ list of demands to pass the government’s PRRT reforms makes Treasurer Jim Chalmers’ choice even more stark, the Greens say.

Greens Economic Justice Spokesperson Senator Nick McKim said:

“Labor’s choice is now abundantly clear: work with the Greens and deliver fairer tax returns from gas corporations and more budget revenue, or work with the Liberals to cut a sweetheart deal for the gas cartel.”

“The Liberals’ demands would require Labor to squib on the agreement they made with the Greens on the Safeguard mechanism, and wind back critical consultation mechanisms with First Nations people.”

“The Liberals demanding such an outrageous deal for their gas cartel mates is simply taking the piss, and Mr Chalmers must hold the line.”

“The Liberals’ proposed changes would put industry interests over the public good.”

“The gas industry has paid barely any tax on billions of profits for years. It’s time that they paid more tax and the Greens stand ready to work withMr Chalmers to deliver that.”

Greens portfolio holder for First Nations, Resources, Trade, Tourism and Sport, and Yamatji Noongar woman, Senator Dorinda Cox said:

“The Liberals new demands on the PRRT reforms show they are in bed with the gas cartel and hell bent on giving companies who pay very little tax, more power to continue environmental and cultural destruction.

“Any talk about ‘restarting offshore gas investment’ and ‘overhauling assessment regulations’ needs to be seen for what it is – an attempt to boost the gas cartel’s profits and destroy cultural heritage and rights of First Nations people.

“The cultural and environmental impacts of the gas industry must be considered, and we have seen several Federal Court cases lead to injunctions, all with similar themes that ‘consultation’ must include the relevant people who will be affected by the project and hold the stories for land and sea country; this also means free, prior and informed consent has been obtained.

“Governments are  cosying up with the mates in the fossil fuel industry hatching this plan, aided by the Coalition wringing their hands and salivating for a new deal to pass this legislation. We see this at a state level in WA, and at a federal level too, and clearly the Liberals are singing from the same ‘State Capture’ songbook.”

This week the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Richard Marles and Minister for Foreign Affairs Penny Wong will travel to India to meet with their ministerial counterparts and attend the second India–Australia 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue in New Delhi.

The Australia–India relationship has never been more consequential. We are working together through our Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, as Quad partners and beyond to promote a peaceful, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific region.

The 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue is a cornerstone of our relationship and an opportunity to progress our work together to shape the type of region we want.

Ministers will advance cooperation on our shared regional interests, including in defence, security, renewable energy and technology. They will also discuss deepening trade and investment ties.

The Deputy Prime Minister will represent the Australian Government at the ICC World Cup on Sunday evening, where Australia will take on India in the final.

Deputy Prime Minister Marles will also meet his counterpart, Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, to discuss ways to continue driving forward the Australia–India defence relationship and discuss the shared challenges facing our region.

Foreign Minister Wong will meet with her counterpart Indian External Affairs Minister Dr S. Jaishankar for the long-standing annual Australia–India Foreign Ministers’ Framework Dialogue.

The Deputy Prime Minister will then travel to the United Arab Emirates to meet with his ministerial counterparts between 21 and 22 November.

This is the first visit to the region by an Australian Defence Minister in five years and the first visit by the Deputy Prime Minister. This sends an important signal that Australia remains committed to Middle East stability. Australia supports the ongoing efforts of international partners, including the UAE, to prevent the Hamas-Israel conflict from spreading.

The Australian Government is sincerely grateful for the UAE’s assistance as we undertook assisted-departure flights for Australians affected by the situation in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, and for the UAE’s ongoing support in hosting Australian Defence Force personnel.

While in the UAE, the Deputy Prime Minister will have the honour of meeting with the President of the United Arab Emirates, His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

The UAE is Australia’s most significant regional defence partner, and largest trade and investment partner with two-way trade valued at $9.2 billion in 2022.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence, the Hon Richard Marles MP said:

“India is a top-tier security partner for Australia and our Comprehensive Strategic Partnership is one of practical, tangible actions that directly benefit the Indo-Pacific region.

“This year has seen a number of firsts in our defence relationship, including an Indian submarine visit to Perth and Australia’s hosting of Exercise Malabar, demonstrating the growing closeness of our defence and security partnership.

“Our cooperation with India is at the heart of Australia’s approach to ensuring the Indo-Pacific remains open, inclusive and resilient.

“Australia remains committed to maintaining our close bilateral defence and economic relationship with the UAE through dialogues, training and industry cooperation.”

Minister for Foreign Affairs, Senator the Hon Penny Wong said:

“The India–Australia partnership is central to the stability and prosperity of our shared region.

“Along with our deepening defence and security cooperation, Australia is committed to partnering with India more closely for the benefit of our region, in the Indian Ocean, in Southeast Asia and in the Pacific.”

The Albanese Government’s Social Housing Accelerator will build around 4,000 homes for Australians who need them.

The Government is today releasing final implementation plans for the $2 billion Social Housing Accelerator that shows how many homes each state and territory government will deliver with funding from the Commonwealth.

The Commonwealth funding for these homes must be committed in full by state and territory governments by 30 June 2025.

This is another example of the Albanese Government working with states and territories to build more homes.

The $2 billion Social Housing Accelerator is in addition to our new $10 billion Housing Australia Future Fund.

Today’s announcement builds on the agreement by National Cabinet to deliver the most significant housing reforms in a generation.

This agreement includes a new national target to build 1.2 million new well‑located homes, the National Planning Reform Blueprint, and A Better Deal for Renters.

At National Cabinet, the Albanese Government also committed a further $3 billion to the New Homes Bonus to incentivise states and territories to undertake the reforms necessary to reach the 1.2 million well‑located homes target.

A new Housing Support Program will provide another $500 million to help local and state and territory governments deliver new housing supply in well‑located areas.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said:

“Australians in every part of the country deserve the security of a roof over their head.

“Working with every state and territory government, our $2 billion Social Housing Accelerator will make a huge difference for thousands of Australian families.

“My Government has an ambitious housing agenda, including the delivery of 30,000 affordable and social homes through our $10 billion Housing Australia Future Fund.”

Minister Julie Collins said:

“We recognise Australia is facing housing challenges, which is why we’re taking immediate action with our $2 billion Social Housing Accelerator.

“This new funding, and the homes we are announcing today, will mean more Australians will have a safe and affordable place to call home.

“The Social Housing Accelerator is just one part of our ambitious housing reform agenda, which is already making a real difference right across the country.”