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Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles and Minister for Foreign Affairs Penny Wong will this week welcome the UK Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs the Rt Hon Lord Cameron and Secretary of State for Defence the Rt Hon Grant Shapps MP to Australia for the annual Australia-United Kingdom Ministerial Consultations (AUKMIN).

The United Kingdom is Australia’s close and enduring partner. Together we are working to shape a peaceful and secure world.

AUKMIN 2024 is an opportunity to identify new ways we can grow and strengthen collaboration in key strategic areas of our partnership.

Australia and the United Kingdom will discuss ways to deepen cooperation across defence, climate action and clean energy, cyber, and economic security.

Both Secretaries of State will visit Canberra on Thursday, before travelling on to Adelaide for AUKMIN Consultations on Friday.

Deputy Prime Minister, the Hon Richard Marles MP:

“In an increasingly complex strategic environment, the United Kingdom remains a critical partner in support of a rules-based global order.”

“I look forward to working with our United Kingdom counterparts this week to progress ambitious new initiatives to deepen our defence partnership.”

Minister for Foreign Affairs, Senator the Hon Penny Wong:

“Australia and the United Kingdom are building on our longstanding strategic partnership to address our challenging and rapidly changing world.

“We are working together, including in the Indo-Pacific, for a world that is peaceful, stable, prosperous and respectful of sovereignty.”

The Australian Law Reform Commission’s review into religious educational institutions and anti-discrimination laws will be tabled in Parliament this week ahead of Labor’s Religious Discrimination Bill anticipated to be tabled in the coming months. 

The mere debate around Scott Morrison’s 2018 bill gave far right activists licence to peddle anti-LGBTIQA+ hate in our media and community. 

The Greens will be carefully considering the report and Labor’s bill when it’s tabled. 

Stephen Bates MP, Australian Greens LGBTIQA+ spokesperson

We’ve been through this already in 2018 when Scott Morrison’s bill unleashed a torrent of LGBTIQA+ hate in our political system, our media and our community. 

Anti-discrimination laws can’t be a trojan horse for other kinds of discrimination. Right now, religious institutions running schools, aged care, disability services, social housing and hospitals deny people of their rights to be themselves or access to services they’re entitled to.

Last time, Labor stopped short of extending protections to LGBTIQA+ staff. The LGBTIQA+ community should not have to wait their turn when it comes to anti-discrimination law.

We can’t afford this debate to act as cover for more hate and division in our community.

We want to work with Labor over the next few months to get the laws right to make sure people are free to practise their faith without discrimination and that people who rely on religious institutions for employment, social services or community aren’t discriminated against either.

Senator Penny Allman-Payne, Australian Greens schools spokesperson

Australia’s fee-charging private schools received $20 billion in combined government funding in 2022.

Why should private religious institutions subsidised from the public purse be exempted from the rules that apply to public schools?

Our kids deserve an enriching school experience that exposes them to the full diversity of Australian life.

Allowing some of the most privileged schools in the country to discriminate against staff on the grounds of their gender or sexual orientation perpetuates prejudice and division and must be consigned to the dustbin of history.

Police have released an image and are appealing for public assistance to identify a man following an alleged sexual act on a bus at Charlestown last month.

About 5.25pm on Thursday 1 February 2024, a man and three women boarded a bus at Pearson Street, Charlestown.

While on the bus, it’s alleged the man exposed himself and rubbed his genitals.

The matter was reported to Police Transport Command Newcastle with officers commencing an investigation.

Despite extensive inquiries by officers attached to the Proactive Crime Team North/Central, investigators have been unable to identify the man, and are now appealing for public assistance.

As inquiries continue, Police have released a CCTV image of a man who they believe may be able to assist with their inquiries.

The man depicted is described as being of Caucasian appearance, about 165cm tall, believed to be aged in his 50s, of slim build, with a shaved head, and was wearing a black t-shirt, yellow shorts, white sneakers and reading and sunglasses at the time.

As inquiries continue, anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

Premier Chris Minns today announced the appointment of Mr Bola Oyetunji as the next Auditor-General of New South Wales.

Mr Oyetunji will be sworn into office in April, when the current Auditor-General Margaret Crawford concludes her eight-year term.

Mr Oyetunji was appointed following a merit-based recruitment process.

His former roles include Group Executive Director – Financial Statements Audit Service Group and Group Head – Systems Assurance and Data Analytics Group at the Australian National Audit Office. He also had a long and successful period in senior roles at the Audit Office of NSW.

Mr Oyetunji’s extensive executive leadership experience includes strategy development, governance, data analytics, finance, accounting and auditing spanning Commonwealth, State and Local government.

Premier of New South Wales Chris Minns said:

“I welcome the appointment of Mr Oyetunji as the next Auditor-General of this state.

“His extensive experience across all levels of government will be valued highly in this important role.

“Under Mr Oyetunji, the Audit Office will continue to ensure public money is used to achieve the best outcomes for NSW.

“I’d like to thank outgoing Auditor-General Margaret Crawford PSM for her work over the past eight years, including the many significant reviews conducted by her and her team.”

Treasurer Daniel Mookhey said:

“Mr Oyetunji’s credentials in auditing, including his roles at the Australian National Audit Office and Audit Office of NSW, will be invaluable to ensuring public money is properly spent to best serve the people of NSW.

“I’d also like to take this opportunity to thank outgoing Auditor-General Margaret Crawford PSM for her service over the past eight years, working tirelessly to help the Parliament of New South Wales hold governments accountable for their use of public resources.”

Mr Bola Oyetunji said:

“Being appointed as the next Auditor-General for NSW is a great honour.

“I am committed to the integrity and independence required of the role in holding government and state agencies accountable for how they govern and use resources under their management. I look forward to serving the NSW Parliament in this capacity.”

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese met today with the Prime Minister of Singapore, His Excellency Lee Hsien Loong, for the 9th Australia-Singapore Annual Leaders’ Meeting.

Australia and Singapore share a partnership that is remarkable in its breadth and depth, grounded in trust and respect.

The Prime Ministers discussed current regional and global security issues and reaffirmed their commitment to work together to promote peace and stability across the Indo-Pacific region. They underlined the importance of an open, inclusive, rules-based and resilient Indo-Pacific region, which promotes free trade and open markets and where differences are resolved peacefully in accordance with international law.

In the lead-up to the 10th anniversary of our Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in 2025, Leaders discussed initiatives to shape the next phase of the Australia-Singapore relationship.

Under our landmark Green Economy Agreement, Leaders announced agreed principles for cross-border electricity trade. These principles will provide clarity and predictability to businesses and create jobs in the clean energy sector.

Leaders also announced the next step towards a green and digital shipping corridor between Australia and Singapore, an agreement between our respective port authorities. This will ensure our maritime industries are fit for the future and provide an avenue for the export of Australia’s renewable energy.

To support this initiative, Leaders welcomed progress in implementation of the Australia-Singapore Initiative on Low-Emissions Technologies for maritime and port operations.

The two Prime Ministers announced the first group of Australian and Singaporean small and medium-sized businesses to receive grants under the $20 million Go-Green Co-Innovation Program, which will facilitate co-innovation between our two countries and support the development of sustainable products and services.

Additional grant funding was announced to encourage collaborative research between Australian and Singaporean scientists on sustainability, innovation and food technology.

Prime Minister Albanese and Prime Minister Lee also announced a new agreement between border agencies to increase cooperation on border security and help to combat cross-border crime.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said:

“Today, Prime Minister Lee and I charted the course for the next ten years of the Australia Singapore Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.

“Australia is fortunate to have a strong partner in Singapore, and an ambitious agenda for the future of our relationship.

“I congratulate Prime Minister Lee on his two decades of service to Singapore and to the region, and I thank him for his unwavering support of our bilateral relationship.”

The Australian Government will invest $64 million over the next four years, including $40 million in new funding, to enhance Australia’s Southeast Asia Maritime Partnerships.

The new commitment, announced at the ASEAN-Australia Special Summit 2024, 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.

Australia will expand government and institutional cooperation with Southeast Asian partners through practical maritime activities.

These include skills development, training and the sharing of technology. Examples of current partnerships include:

• conserving coral reefs through the Australian Institute for Marine Science
• maritime law enforcement and domain awareness through the Australian Border Force
• geospatial mapping through Geoscience Australia
• marine environmental governance through the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research; and
• marine protection through the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water.

This cooperation supports the ASEAN Maritime Outlook and the maritime pillar of the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific.

Australia is working closely with Southeast Asian partners to respond to shared maritime challenges and uphold international law, particularly the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.

We will continue to cooperate on those challenges, which include law enforcement, domain awareness, sustainable marine resources, marine protection and conservation, and upholding the law of the sea.

Today, at the ASEAN-Australia Special Summit 2024, I announced Australia is investing a further $222.5 million to support the resilience and prosperity of the Mekong subregion of Southeast Asia through the Mekong-Australia Partnership.

Since its launch, the Mekong-Australia Partnership has supported the subregion’s environmental and economic resilience, leadership and skills, and trade and investment.

This second phase of funding over the next five years will address priorities and shared challenges with a focus on improving water security, responding to climate change and combatting transnational crime.

Australia will contribute to strengthened leadership, institutions, and people to people connections to promote shared prosperity.

The Mekong-Australia Partnership complements Australia’s longstanding bilateral partnerships and ASEAN development cooperation.

Australia will continue to work with our Mekong subregion partners to shape and secure the future of the region and all those who rely on it.

The Prime Minister is prioritising his political interests over the needs of more than 14 million Australians who have private health insurance.

As revealed in the Australian today, the Albanese Labor Government is deliberately hiding how much more Australians will be paying for their private health insurance until after the Dunkley by-election, which would make this the latest premium change announcement in 15 years.

In the middle of a cost-of-living crisis, Australians need time to prepare for rises in their out-of-pocket costs. Right now, every dollar counts.

Both the Prime Minister and the Health Minister ran away from transparency this morning as they refused to admit fault. Australians have a right to expect more from their Government.

During the last Parliament, the Coalition was able to achieve the lowest annual premium change for consumers since 2001 and still announce every change in December.

The Shadow Minister for Health and Aged Care, Senator Anne Ruston said that clearly the Albanese Government is prioritising politics over people, and it will hurt hardworking Australians who are already struggling to pay their bills.

“It is astounding that this Government is not providing private health providers or Australians with private health insurance enough time to adjust to possible premium increases, which are due to come into effect in only a months’ time.

“Either the Health Minister has not been able to effectively negotiate with providers, or he has something to hide from the voters of Dunkley and the Australian public.

“It is totally indefensible that the Labor Government is refusing to tell the people of Dunkley the truth this week.

“The Prime Minister needs to be honest with the people of Dunkley – how much more will they be paying for importance services like private health insurance and residential aged care after this weekend?” Senator Anne Ruston said.

The Opposition remains strongly committed to Australians having affordable access to private health insurance.

As another Parliamentary sitting week draws to a close home ownership, especially for first home buyers, has never been further out of reach.

This week, the Albanese Labor Government fiddled while the housing crisis continues to get worse.

The so called ‘Help to Buy’ scheme – a tiny proposal – simply replicates state government shared equity schemes that already exist and have largely been rejected by Australians. For example, 94 per cent of places in the virtually identical New South Wales scheme (Shared Equity Home Buyer Helper) are still unused, such is the lack of demand.

So, it’s no wonder the Government gagged debate of the ‘Help to Buy’ Bill – an election promise which was due to commence on 1 January 2023 – as it was unable to convince its backbenchers to even speak in support of the shambolic proposal.

On top of this, Australia has recently seen the weakest quarter of construction in more than a decade, with forecasts showing housing starts will decline even further over the next two years.

First home buyers are at the lowest level since the Gillard government, new home approvals have dropped to the lowest level in more than a decade, and lending for new homes remains at a shameful 20-year low.

Since the election, national median rents have increased by 26 per cent to $580 per week, Australia is experiencing record migration on Labor’s watch, and it has also been confirmed Labor’s 1.2 million homes promise is officially broken with an estimated 400,000 shortfall.

Labor continues to dodge the Coalition’s questions about the state of the housing crisis, and after 20 months of this Government, things are unfortunately only going to get worse with home ownership and the residential construction industry remaining at the bottom of Labor’s priority list.

Bathurst’s licensed venues can stay open an extra two hours this Sunday so motor sports fans can kick on after the Bathurst SuperFest final.

Eligible venues in the Bathurst Regional LGA can now operate until midnight on Sunday night, 25 February as part of the NSW Government’s trading extensions for special events. 

Under the extensions, venues can open their doors longer for special cultural and sporting events, helping to boost local night-time economies. 

As the year progresses, the NSW Government expects to list additional special events, further enriching NSW’s nightlife and cultural offerings across the regions.

For Bathurst SuperFest, this extended trading applies to all eligible licensed venues in Abercrombie, Bathurst, Eglinton, Kelso, Llanarth, Mitchell, Mount Panorama, Orton Park, Perthville, Raglan, South Bathurst, West Bathurst and Windradyne. 

For the full list of special events and more information on extended trading, please visit: https://www.liquorandgaming.nsw.gov.au/operating-a-business/running-your-business/longertrading-hours-to-celebrate-special-events

For more information on the NSW Government’s Vibrancy reforms, please visit: https://www.nsw.gov.au/business-and-economy/24-hour-economy/vibrancy-reforms

Minister for Music and the Night-time Economy John Graham said: “Bathurst is a big moment on the motor sports calendar, bringing more than 18,500 visitors. 

“I am pleased local hospitality venues can welcome visitors later with our extended trading, enabling them to fully reap the benefits and provide the experiences that will keep people coming back next year.” 

Minister for Gaming and Racing David Harris said: “Local pubs, clubs and bars play a crucial role in the social fabric of regional communities like Bathurst.

“The NSW Government is committed to creating additional opportunities for hospitality venues during special events, like this weekend’s SuperFest final.

“Allowing for extended trading hours across a diverse mix of special events helps locals and visitors to really soak up the atmosphere, delivering a better experience for everyone across our finest sporting and cultural events.”