Category: Australian News

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Leaders from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Timor-Leste have reaffirmed their commitment to securing peace, stability, prosperity and a sustainable future for the region.

Prime Minister Albanese hosted the leaders of the Lao PDR, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and Timor-Leste in Melbourne at the ASEAN-Australia Special Summit.

Themed “A Partnership for the Future”, the Summit marked 50 years since Australia became ASEAN’s first Dialogue Partner.

Leaders committed to working together to address shared challenges while embracing opportunities that will benefit all who live in our region.

Prime Minister Albanese and ASEAN Leaders adopted the ASEAN-Australia Joint Leaders’ Vision Statement and the Melbourne Declaration which set out the next 50 years of our enduring partnership to promote an open, inclusive and transparent region with ASEAN at the centre.

Leaders set out their shared aspirations for the region’s future, committing to work together to contribute to the maintenance of peace and stability, as well as enhance cooperation for sustainable development and prosperity in the region. They identified areas of practical cooperation for the future, ranging from deepening economic and socio-cultural ties to strengthening educational and environmental cooperation. These outcomes reinforce Australia’s commitment to Southeast Asia and ASEAN – now, and into the future.

In line with Australia’s deep and enduring ties with ASEAN and the priority the Government places on building stronger partnerships with Southeast Asia, today Prime Minister Albanese announced:

• Establishing an ASEAN-Australia Centre in Canberra. Commencing on 1 July 2024, the Centre will be a focal point for engagement with ASEAN and promote greater Southeast Asia cultural literacy in Australia. The Centre will focus on strengthening business, education, cultural and community connections between Australia, ASEAN Member States and Timor-Leste.
• More than 75 new Aus4ASEAN scholarships, some of which will be co-funded by Australian universities, and 55 fellowships for emerging leaders from the region to have a world-class Australian education.
• An Energy Cooperation Package under the Aus4ASEAN Futures Initiative to enhance ASEAN-led regional energy policy and planning, including implementation of the ASEAN Strategy for Carbon Neutrality. The package will support the ASEAN Centre for Energy and the establishment of an ASEAN Centre for Climate Change in Brunei Darussalam.
• Providing English language training for Timor-Leste to support its path to full ASEAN membership. The package will enable valuable training to help Timor-Leste engage effectively in ASEAN.

During the Special Summit, the Prime Minister reiterated Australia’s commitment to deepening two-way trade and investment with ASEAN to drive growth that creates jobs and realises economic benefits for all people in the region. The Albanese Government announced a number of initiatives to implement key recommendations from Invested: Southeast Asia Economic Strategy to 2040, launched last year:

• Establishing a $2 billion Southeast Asia Investment Financing Facility to catalyse Australian investment in the region in key sectors such as infrastructure and the clean energy transition;
• Extending Australia’s Partnerships for Infrastructure initiative that supports efforts to improve regional infrastructure development and attract more diverse, quality infrastructure finance;
• Appointing 10 Business Champions to facilitate greater commercial links between Australia and the economies of ASEAN, ensuring Government and the private sector work in tandem to boost our two-way trade and investment;
• Establishing new regional ‘Landing Pads’ in Jakarta and Ho Chi Minh City to bolster Australian technology exports and support the region’s digital transformation;
• Improving visa access for Southeast Asia, with the extension of the Business Visitor Visa from three to five years, and the introduction of the Frequent Traveller stream, providing 10 year visas for eligible ASEAN Member States. This sends a clear signal that Australia is open for business;
• Announcing the location of regional hubs for Investment Deal Teams in Singapore, Jakarta and Ho Chi Minh City; and
• The first business mission under the Australia-Southeast Asia Business Exchange to Singapore and Malaysia in April focusing on green energy transition.

The Albanese Government also announced the extension of initiatives to support the clean energy transition and practical maritime cooperation, including:

• Implementing the next phase of the Mekong-Australia Partnership to deepen Australia’s engagement in the Mekong subregion to address shared challenges, including water security, climate change and transnational crime.
• $64 million to enhance Australia’s Southeast Asia Maritime Partnerships. This will expand Australia’s maritime cooperation with regional partners and contribute to the security and prosperity of the region, consistent with the priorities of Southeast Asian countries.
• A $10 million specific Climate and Clean Energy Window as part of the Southeast Asia Government-to-Government Partnerships Fund announced in 2023. This will facilitate knowledge sharing and capacity building in addressing climate change.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said:

“It has been an honour to host leaders from ASEAN and Timor-Leste in Melbourne as we mark 50 years of partnership between ASEAN and Australia.

“ASEAN binds our region together and I can say with confidence that our partnership has never been stronger or more consequential to our mutual prosperity and to the stability of the region we call home.

“Australia is committed to being an exemplary partner to the countries of Southeast Asia – we will continue to be constructive, and to engage with respect, honesty and trust, and, importantly, to listen.

“ASEAN and Australia’s economies are deeply intertwined. We want to play a bigger role in Southeast Asia’s pursuit of economic opportunity, development, and growth.

“My Government has made serious, sustained and consistent international engagement a priority – working together with our friends and partners to shape the future we want to see.”

Ten years on from the disappearance of Malaysian Airlines flight 370, the Australian Government’s sincere sympathies remain with the loved ones of the 239 passengers and crew on board, including seven people who called Australia home.

Despite coordinated efforts to locate the missing plane over the last decade, those who lost loved ones have not had the answers they seek. We recognise their ongoing heartache and grief.

Today, we also acknowledge the significant contributions made to support the Malaysian Government in the search for MH370 over many years. 

Australia coordinated what was one of the biggest search operations of its kind in history when the aircraft disappeared, searching over 3 million square kilometres above the water and more than 120,000 square kilometres under the water, sadly without locating the missing aircraft.

We thank all of those who assisted in these efforts, including the Australian Defence Force, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau, the Defence Science and Technology Group, Geoscience Australia, and the CSIRO.

The Australian Government is supportive of all practical efforts to find MH370. Australia stands ready to assist the Malaysian Government if it considers that Australian agencies are able to offer technical information as a result of their involvement in previous searches.

In 2021 as part of his election platform Anthony Albanese pledged to deliver 500 new frontline community domestic violence workers, saying:

“Coalition governments have failed to take this task seriously. Not enough workers are funded. It’s past time to stop just talking about it – and elevate women’s safety to a national priority.”

Labor funded the 500 community workers measure in the October 2022 Budget promising to have 200 new workers on the ground in 2022-23. None were delivered in that year.

Today the Opposition can reveal that just two workers out of the 500 promised are on the ground delivering domestic violence support services 16 months on from that funding being allocated and almost two years into the Albanese Government’s term.

Anthony Albanese has delivered just one domestic violence worker in South Australia and one domestic violence worker in the Northern Territory.

Two of the 500 promised domestic violence workers is totally unacceptable.

This shocking revelation was unearthed by questioning at Senate Estimates by the Shadow Minister for Child Protection and the Prevention of Family Violence, Kerrynne Liddle.

This also brings into question statements made by the Prime Minister in the House on this matter. When asked about Labor’s performance in reducing domestic violence in Question Time on 27 November 2023 he responded:

“My government is taking immediate and practical action…We’ve delivered on our commitment of new frontline and community sector workers to support victims-survivors.”

Given that at most only two of 500 promised domestic violence workers could have been on the ground when he made that statement, the answer was misleading and should be corrected.

The Deputy Leader and Shadow Minister for Women, Sussan Ley, called on Anthony Albanese to stand up and accept responsibility for failing to meet his commitment to deliver 500 new domestic violence workers and pledge to fix it.

“Today of all days we have to confront the reality that domestic violence is a crisis across Australia, over a dozen women have been killed already this year, most by domestic violence,” she said.

“I cannot express the depth of my disappointment that only two of the promised 500 domestic violence workers are in place, more than 650 days on since Labor was elected.

“Women’s safety is a critical precondition for gender equality and the women of Australia deserve accountability from the Government on this.”

Shadow Minister for Child Protection and Prevention of Family Violence, Senator Kerrynne Liddle, said the rollout of critical frontline service workers had been appalling, and amounted to another broken promise from the Albanese Government.

“There is no excuse for violence but the factors that coincide with spikes are known, such as poverty, stress and substance misuse and gendered power in relationships; the Albanese Government’s go slow here is truly unwarranted and disturbing,” the Senator for South Australia said.

“I have spent months seeking the truth only to find that just two of the 500 promised frontline workers have been employed on the frontline to assist the desperate family, domestic and sexual violence sector.

“This is a disgrace given that we lost more than 50 women to intimate partner violence in 2023 and already 11 women have been killed in family violence incidents in just two months this year.”

These revelations come as the Deputy Leader of the Opposition, Sussan Ley, sounds the alarm over an anticipated spike of domestic violence incidents over coming weeks as Australians face the stress of bills built up over the holiday period and the increasing impact of the cost of living crisis.

Data compiled by the Parliamentary Library from Victoria Police, the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research, and the Australian Bureau of Statistics demonstrates Australia has an annual spike of domestic violence in March. It is well understood there is a spike of violence in December and January over the holidays but this data demonstrates that March is another month that sees a spike in domestic violence in Australia.

According to the analysis from the Parliamentary Library, March is a period when the financial effects built up over the Christmas holidays are felt and this trend can be seen in the spike of domestic violence reporting over a number of years.

There are grave concerns, given the economic strain across Australia, that domestic violence will likely increase again in coming weeks. In 2023, across Victoria and New South Wales, there was an almost 7 per cent increase over March with more than 1,000 additional incidents reported. Given this is just two states and that most incidents go unreported, the numbers are certainly much higher.

Yesterday in Broome at approximately 2:15pm, a male was filmed by a group of community members pacing and standing guard over three small First Nations children, the youngest being 6 years old. This video footage went viral. These small children had their hands cable tied and were sitting outside in the 32 degree hot sun at a property. They were crying and visibly distressed, pleading to leave.

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

“My heart is heavy today. This footage was disturbing and confronting. We can never be ok with watching children as young as 6 being humiliated, their tiny wrists being tied up and leaving them crying in the hot sun. Children are forever damaged by this type of behaviour. There is no justification for instilling terror into small children.

“As a mother, watching these children begging for their freedom and in fear was like watching a slow repeat of the historical racially based abuse experienced by previous generations of First Nations people. We have just acknowledged Survival and National Apology Day and yet we are confronted with scenes that demonstrate the harsh reality of racism faced by First Nations people every day. We must confront such footage in the spirit of truth telling, however confronting this is. This is how we heal and move forward.

“As a community, we all have a shared responsibility to rise above and challenge abuse, violence, racism and attitudes that encourage these behaviours towards children.

“My heartfelt thanks to the voices in the footage who were brave, loud and who said this behaviour towards small children was not acceptable and demonstrated the power of unity and community. I can only imagine how confronting and distressing this experience was for you, so thank you.

“We have sadly stood together before to stand against violence and abuse towards First Nation Children and I call upon WA police, all Australian politicians and the broader public to stand united and send out a clear message that we can never accept this happening to any child in our society, on our watch.

“Know that united we will continue to elevate the voices of First Nations people and the message that First nations children’s lives matter and that racism and violence will never be accepted. We can and must do better for future generations and those who have gone before us.”

Today at the National Press Club, Greens spokesperson for Housing and Homelessness Max Chandler-Mather will announce the party’s first Federal Election policy, a public property developer that would see the federal government build homes and sell and rent them for below market prices helping renters and first home buyers. The public property developer would sit within a revived, dedicated Federal Department of Housing called the Federal Department of Sustainable Cities, Development and Housing. 

Under the Greens plan, costed by the Parliamentary Budget Office, the public property developer would build 360,000 good quality homes over the next five years (610,000 homes over the decade), and sell and rent them for a big discount. Based on the PBO’s analysis, an average renter participating in the program would save $5,200 a year on rent (19% discount on market rent)  and the average first home buyer participating in the program would save $260,000 on the cost of a home  (33% discount on the median private market house), compared with average market prices. 

The Greens plan will ensure that people’s right to a good quality public home is put ahead of developer profits. The public developer would sell the homes at just over the cost of construction to any first home buyer, while rents would be capped at 25% of household income.

Of these homes, 30% would be available to purchase and 70% would be available to rent. Unlike traditional public housing, the homes would be available to any renter or first home buyer, with 20% of the rentals allocated towards the bottom 20% of earners. The allocation would prioritise those with connection to the local area, including if they have children enrolled in local schools, work and support services connections, or if they are First Nations peoples. 

By prioritising sustainable urban design, the Greens’ plan would help build a sense of local community, ensuring that people’s homes are at the centre of a community that they would like to live, work and relax in. The developer would prioritise good quality medium density developments, working with the new Federal Department to ensure the developments are integrated with local public transport, health and education infrastructure.

Work by the public developer would be informed by innovative projects such as the design principles of the Nightingale Model; this could include incorporating rooftop gardens, 8 star energy rating, and other design principles that save on construction costs, like removing basement carparks where developments are adjacent to public and active transport.  

The net underlying cash balance cost to the budget would be $27.9 billion over the decade. By way of comparison the Federal Government spent $27 billion in rental deductions for property investors this year alone. After including construction and land costs, interest costs on debt and rental and sales income, the headline cash balance impact would be $285b over the decade. 

Extract from today’s address to the National Press Club by Max Chandler-Mather MP, Greens Spokesperson for Housing and Homelessness:

The Greens will scrap the tax handouts for property investors and invest billions in building hundreds of thousands of good quality homes to be sold and rented at prices people can actually afford. 

The Greens’ public developer would save an average renter participating in the program $5200 a year on their rent, and average first home buyer participating in the program $260,000 on the price of a home, by cutting out the profit margin and building good quality homes for people, the way governments used to. 

Relying on private developers to tackle the housing crisis is like relying on Coles and Woolworths not to rip you off. They helped create the crisis in the first place, and have no interest in fixing it. 

For decades now the government has left the supply of housing to private developers, and they have catastrophically failed, making massive profits while driving up the cost of housing by deliberately restricting supply, sitting on vacant homes and blocks of land approved for development. 

Normally a private developer pockets a big profit, but the public developer would put that profit back in the pockets of renters and first home buyers in the form of lower house prices and rents.  

Labor’s plan to tackle the housing crisis is to rely on profit hungry developers to build expensive homes no one can afford, and give billions of dollars in tax handouts to property investors, which deny millions of renters the chance to buy a home. 

Labor is the party of tax handouts to property developers to build expensive penthouse apartments no one can afford. The Greens are the party for beautifully designed and well built homes at prices people actually afford. 

Labor are the party of property investors and private developers. The Greens are the party for renters and first home buyers. 

This plan would transform the lives of millions of people, whether it’s the single mum who is sleeping in her car, or the young couple who have given up on the dream of ever owning a home

The Greens welcome Labor’s decision to finally get on board with the Greens’ policy to pay parents superannuation on paid parental leave (PPL). 

The Greens have lobbied Labor consistently on this subject, and have seen our own amendments rejected to pay super on PPL, even after significant evidence was presented at the Work and Care Inquiry leading to super on PPL being a key recommendation of the Inquiry’s report. 

Greens leader in the Senate and spokesperson on Women, Larissa Waters said:

“Once again, pressure works. The Greens have been calling for the government to put their money where their mouth is on gender equality and pay super on parental leave throughout this term of government and for many years before.

“We welcome this announcement, but why make women wait until 2025, when Labor has a paid parental leave bill before the Senate right now. 

“Parental leave is the only leave entitlement paid without superannuation. Making people wait until after the next election to receive it is an outrage.

“Labor is still making people  wait for super on PPL, for a replacement wage and for 12 months of paid parental leave – as recommended by their own Women’s Economic Equality Taskforce.

“Labor have been dragging their feet on all things PPL throughout their first term of government, and now they want women to wait until after the next federal election to get super paid on it.” 

Under questioning from Greens Senator Janet Rice, Airservices Australia have admitted their full runway trial to reduce noise over Brisbane residents was a sham.

Officials admitted that height markers used by pilots to calculate their climb trajectory were not increased during the trial, meaning that they had no reason to climb higher than they normally would, and this explains the lack of a noticeable difference in noise.

The trial involved the use of the full runway for all flights over the city, as opposed to standard practice where many flights begin takeoff already partway down the runway (known as an “intersection departure”). This allows more thrust to be used at takeoff and therefore a steeper climb, meaning aircraft are at a higher altitude when flying over residential areas.

The Greens have written to ASA requesting an explanation and new trial.

The Estimates transcript can be found here.

Elizabeth Watson-Brown, Greens spokesperson for Transport, Infrastructure and Sustainable Cities said:

“This confirms what we already suspected – the full runway trial at Brisbane Airport was set up to fail by Airservices Australia.

“Once again we’re seeing the absolute failure of Airservices Australia to put any meaningful effort into reducing noise over Brisbane residents’ homes.

“Given the whole point of the trial was to increase the height of the aircraft over the city, it is pure negligence to not increase the height markers.

“Airservices Australia should immediately order a new trial with increased height markers.

“Flight noise has disrupted Brisbane residents’ lives, and their physical and mental health, especially since the introduction of the new parallel runway in 2020. The least that government agencies like Airservices Australia can do is run these noise improvement trials properly.”

Today’s Gender Equality Strategy: Working for Women has finally been released, but as we have come to expect from this government, it’s big on flourish, short on detail and comes with unnecessarily long wait times.

Greens leader in the Senate and spokesperson on Women, Larissa Waters said:

“Women have been waiting for the Gender Equality Strategy since the election, and now women have to keep waiting for much of what’s in the strategy.

“We welcome Labor’s support for Greens’ policy to pay super on parental leave, but why make women wait until 2025, when there is a paid parental leave bill before the Senate right now. 

“Labor has been dragging their feet on all things PPL throughout their first term of government, and now they want women to wait until after the next federal election to get super paid on PPL. 

“The Greens would fast-track putting super on PPL through the parliament if the government want to give women this long overdue workplace right by 1 July this year.

“The strategy today was silent on the other much needed PPL reforms, also recommended by the WEET, for replacement wage and 12 months of PPL by 2030.

“We are pleased to see the Government heed the Greens’ call to stop subsidising discrimination, by making companies with over 500 employees ineligible for government contracts if they are not taking steps to close their gender pay gap, but this rule should apply to companies with 100+ employees, and to government grants not just contracts.

“Health is one of the strategy’s priority areas, but the Government response to the Senate inquiry into reproductive healthcare which I initiated is 7 months overdue, with no explanation for inaction. Meanwhile people are forced to travel hundreds of kilometres and spend hundreds of dollars to access surgical abortion.

“Labor’s 2019 election pledge for taxpayer-funded abortions to be offered in public hospitals was good policy; it’s disappointing they continue to back away from it. Abortion care is basic healthcare and it should be available at any public hospital, with no out-of-pocket costs.

“The strategy also focuses on ending violence against women, but in estimates last May the Government confirmed that funding to end violence against women and children is less than half the $1 billion each year the women’s safety sector says is needed.

“Violence against women and children has not reduced since the first National Plan to end it  12 years ago. Labor must provide the funds required for the National Plan to succeed, or they risk squandering another 10 years, and more women’s lives.”

Greens spokesperson on employment Senator Barbara Pocock said:

“It’s great to see the Minister for Women adopting the Greens policy of super on Paid Parental leave. But as usual Labor’s gender equality plan is too little too late.

“One-third of the gender pay gap is attributed to time spent caring for family and interruptions to full-time employment. The Government knows this is a key factor in women’s inequality, yet their response fails to adequately address this.

“We need to demolish barriers to women participating equally in the workforce by introducing free childcare, a minimum of 12 months paid parental leave now, not after the next election, and we need workplace policies that encourage men to take on more of the unpaid work that women do, like caring for children, elderly and disabled family members, and household duties.

“We heard plenty of evidence at the Work and Care Inquiry, which I chaired, that predicts huge economic benefits through raising women’s participation in the workforce. In fact, if women’s participation matched that of men, GDP would increase by almost 9%. That’s an extra $30 billion added to our economy by 2050.”

Prime Minister Albanese and HE Mr Sonexay Siphandone, Prime Minister of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, signed an agreement elevating ties between Australia and Laos to a Comprehensive Partnership.  

Australia is proud to be one of Laos’ longest-standing partners, a relationship built on mutual respect, understanding and close cooperation.

The Australia-Laos Comprehensive Partnership will drive bilateral cooperation across four pillars, reflecting our shared priorities for the future:

• People, education and human resource development;
• Economics, trade and investment;
• Climate, environment and energy; and
• Defence and law enforcement.

Australia’s Southeast Asia Economic Strategy to 2040 identified agriculture and food, resources and green energy as key areas of opportunity for Australian business in Laos. The Comprehensive Partnership will also support Laos to maximise sustainable development in these sectors.

Prime Minister Albanese also announced that Australia has committed $3 million to Monash University’s World Mosquito Program to assist in the elimination of dengue fever in Laos. The program will fund research and allow Australia to share world-class knowledge and resources to manage the spread of dengue fever in Laos.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said:

“I am honoured to Co-Chair this week’s ASEAN Special Summit with Prime Minister Sonexay.

“This milestone Comprehensive Partnership reflects our commitment to bring Australia and Laos even closer together.”

Today Prime Minister Albanese and the Prime Minister of Vietnam, His Excellency Mr Pham Minh Chính, announced a major upgrade of the Australia – Vietnam relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.

Our relationship is underpinned by strategic trust, mutual respect and shared ambition. Last year, Australia and Vietnam celebrated 50 years of diplomatic relations.

The landmark Comprehensive Strategic Partnership will support expanded cooperation on climate, environment and energy, and digital transformation and innovation, building on established collaboration across defence and security, economic engagement and education.

Leaders acknowledged a range of new initiatives as part of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.

A new Peacekeeping Partnership Arrangement announced by leaders will solidify Australia’s support to Vietnam’s peacekeeping efforts, including the UN Mission in South Sudan. This agreement is an example of how Indo-Pacific partners can work together to support global peace and security. Leaders also agreed to elevate the Australia-Vietnam Security Dialogue to the Ministerial level to advance cooperation on law enforcement issues.

To grow trade and investment links between Australia and Vietnam, the Prime Ministers welcomed new cooperation in agriculture that will encourage trade in new commodities. They welcomed arrangements that will enable 1,000 Vietnamese workers to work in the agricultural sector to fill labour gaps in rural and regional Australia and a new agreement between agencies responsible for trade and investment promotion.

Education has long been a pillar of the Australia-Vietnam relationship, and a source of warm ties between our people. A renewed framework for cooperation between Australian and Vietnamese education institutions will strengthen our ability to work together on early childhood, primary, secondary and tertiary education, to deliver the workforce that we require to seize the opportunities of the future.

Leaders also welcomed new agreements between our maritime and science agencies to support Vietnam’s management of its maritime resources, including through adaption to climate change.

To formalise our growing partnership, leaders also agreed to new ministerial dialogues on priority areas. An annual ministerial dialogue on energy and minerals will drive cooperation in our energy and resources sectors, including critical minerals supply chains. The first Annual Trade Ministers’ Dialogue, held on 5 March between Minister Farrell and Minister Dien, provided a platform to build trade and investment between our countries.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said:

“It is a pleasure to welcome Prime Minister Chính to Australia following my visit to Vietnam last year.

“Australia and Vietnam share an ambitious agenda across climate change and sustainability, digital transformation and innovation, defence and security, economics and trade, and education.

“This new Comprehensive Strategic Partnership reflects our cooperation, our strategic trust and shared ambition for our region.

“There is enormous potential to be realised through closer ties between Australia and Vietnam.”