Australia-Japan Foundation grant recipients

Today I announce the recipients of the Australia-Japan Foundation (AJF) grants for 2023-24.

The AJF advances Australia’s foreign and trade policy interests with Japan by supporting partnerships in areas of shared interest and increasing Australian engagement with Japan.

The 21 recipients in 2023-24 include:

  • An inaugural 1.5-Track Trilateral Dialogue between representatives of Australia, Japan, and the Republic of Korea hosted by the United States Studies Centre at the University of Sydney. The dialogue will provide a new forum to enhance coordination, strengthen ties and support shared strategic objectives. This will be co-funded by the Australia-Korea Foundation.
  • A new partnership between Australian Blind Football and the Japan Blind Football Association to support cooperation and international matches in women’s blind football, men’s blind football and partially sighted futsal.
  • Support for The Shepherd Centre to share Australian expertise and build Japanese capability in listening and spoken language early intervention for children with hearing loss in Japan.
  • In celebration of 40 years of cooperation, support for Meals on Wheels South Australia and Meals on Wheels Japan to develop innovative responses to the challenges of ageing populations, poor nutrition, food insecurity of children and seniors, and social isolation.

A full list of successful grant recipients is available on the AJF website.

Australia-Korea Foundation grant recipients

Today I announce the recipients of the Australia-Korea Foundation (AKF) grants for 2023-24.

AKF grants strengthen collaboration between Australia and the Republic of Korea by advancing our shared political, economic, and social interests.

The 26 recipients in 2023-24 include:

  • An initiative led by Monash University to deepen the joint response in gender equality and the prevention of violence against women by promoting discussions, enhancing institutional links and creating evidence-based outcomes.
  • An inaugural 1.5-Track Trilateral Dialogue between representatives of Australia, Japan, and the Republic of Korea hosted by the United States Studies Centre at the University of Sydney. The dialogue will provide a new forum to enhance coordination, strengthen ties and support shared strategic objectives. This will be co-funded by the Australia-Japan Foundation.
  • Sport Inclusion Australia’s inclusive cultural exchange for athletes to share Australia’s expertise and Korea’s strengths and knowledge in sport, including coaching, sport science, and inclusive para sport pathways.
  • Support for the Melbourne International Comedy Festival to tour stand-up comedy performances in Busan and Seoul.

A full list of successful grant recipients is available on the AKF website.

Jason Donovan in The Rocky Horror Show sets new box office record for Civic Theatre

The cast and crew have taken to the Civic Theatre stage ahead of the first performance of The Rocky Horror Show this evening and the official opening night on Saturday.

Record-breaking audiences will spend the next three weeks doing the time warp in Newcastle as the 50th anniversary production of the iconic rock’n’roll musical launches its national tour at the Civic Theatre.

The cast of The Rocky Horror Show on stage at the Civic Theatre.

Almost 23,000 tickets have already been snapped up for The Rocky Horror Show, breaking the box office record set by Come From Away last year to become the most successful production ever staged at the Civic Theatre.

Australian superstar Jason Donovan leads a talented cast as the charismatic Frank N Furter and will be joined on stage by radio and television personality Myf Warhurst as the Narrator.

Newcastle Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes said the record ticket sales again prove there’s a strong appetite for international-quality touring productions amongst Novocastrians and visitors.

“The Rocky Horror Show is living up to its status as one of the world’s most popular and highest-selling musicals, drawing both first-time and repeat theatregoers from throughout the Hunter and across the country,” Cr Nelmes said.

“Ticket sales so far have come from every state in Australia and as far away as the United Kingdom, ensuring this production will not only provide local theatregoers with an experience to remember but will help boost visitation to our city from those travelling to see The Rocky Horror Show in our majestic Civic Theatre.

“The record-breaking success of The Rocky Horror Show and Come From Away demonstrate the huge demand for high calibre, Broadway and West End productions in Newcastle.

“Major events are a clear economic driver and The Rocky Horror Show is another significant drawcard for our city that will provide considerable benefits for Newcastle’s visitor economy.”

Sir Howard Panter, Jason Donovan, Myf Warhurst, Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes and City of Newcastle CEO Jeremy Bath ahead of The Rocky Horror Show opening at the Civic Theatre tonight. Photo credit Daniel Boud.

The Rocky Horror Show will be the first in a new line-up of world class productions brought to Newcastle by leading British theatre producer Sir Howard Panter of Trafalgar Entertainment.

“We are thrilled to be here in Newcastle bringing the first of many new international smash hit theatre productions to the city, and what better way to start the party than with the ultimate rock ‘n roll celebration, The Rocky Horror Show,” Sir Howard Panter said.

“The response has been phenomenal so far and we can’t wait for audiences to witness this incredible production.”

The Rocky Horror Show has been seen by more than 30 million people in over 30 countries since making its debut in London in 1973.

Its Newcastle season will run from 12 January until 4 February, with tickets on sale now. For more information, visit www.civictheatrenewcastle.com.au

Sydney Metro West tunnelling in full swing at The Bays

Work is ramping up at The Bays to construct the new 24-kilometre metro railway line that will transform Sydney as part of the NSW Government’s enhanced Sydney Metro West project.

Two tunnel boring machines (TBMs) Daphne and Beatrice are preparing to re-launch in the coming weeks, as they make their way from the Five Dock Metro Station site to Burwood North Station site.

Hundreds of pre-cast tunnel segments have been delivered to The Bays Metro Station site, ready to meet the machines as they progress up to 90 metres below Sydney’s inner west.

Each day, more than 250 precast tunnel segments will be transported from The Bays, through the newly built tunnels beneath Iron Cove to Five Dock, where they’ll meet Daphne and Beatrice.

TBMs Beatrice and Daphne launched last year from the western side of The Bays Station. Both machines have progressed significantly in their tunnelling journey, having installed approximately 30,700 of 150,000 segments that will line the new tunnel walls.

At the eastern end of the site, work has commenced to prepare the 32-metre-deep station box for two new TBMs that will launch from The Bays to tunnel under Darling Harbour towards the city in mid-2024.

These TBMs, each weighing about 1,300 tonnes, are the final two of six mega tunnelling machines for Sydney Metro West.

A second, supersized shed on the western side of The Bays site is being used for storing excavated material after it is transferred from the TBMs on conveyor belts. The shed holds a maximum of 40,000 tonnes of material that is continuously being moved for reuse on other sites across Sydney.

As announced by the NSW Government, The Bays is one of the priority precincts to be rezoned to allow for a major new housing uplift.

The Bays Metro Station will deliver a rail service to the area for the first time and support this renewal of the harbourside precinct.

Sydney Metro West is expected to be complete by 2032.

Get more information about the project.launch

Quotes attributable to Transport Minister Jo Haylen:

“Our Metro Review has ensured a new and improved Sydney Metro West will be delivered for the people of NSW, with a focus on driving housing supply.

“The Bays is in full tunnelling mode and teams here are laser-focused on constructing this new metro line that will deliver unrivalled public transport for all of Sydney.

“The benefits of this city-shaping mega project extend beyond fast, reliable travel. Sydney Metro West will transform communities, act as a catalyst for new housing and support new precincts like at The Bays which hasn’t previously been serviced by a rail connection.”

Road safety forum to assemble top experts on road toll

International and Australian road safety experts, advocates for motorists and road traffic victims, academics, as well as federal and state stakeholders will be brought together on Thursday 22 February to focus on safer roads and saving lives.

The NSW Government road safety forum will be the first time in the state’s history that experts from interstate and around the world will be brought together to tackle the issue of deaths on our roads. It will take advice from Scandinavian countries that have succeeded in reducing road fatalities over the last 20 years.

The government is hosting the forum in Sydney to lead the conversation on how to address the road toll, which has risen across Australian jurisdictions as traffic volumes have rebounded following COVID-19 lockdowns and restrictions.

There will be a particular focus on preventing regional road fatalities. A third of the NSW population resides in regional areas, but two thirds of the state’s road fatalities take place in our regions, including urban centres in regional areas.

Federal Assistant Minister for Infrastructure and Transport Carol Brown will provide a federal perspective, with NSW keen to increase cooperation between the states and territories on this shared challenge on our roads.

The NSW Government is inviting the state opposition and members of the crossbench to be part of the forum, to be hosted by Transport for NSW.

The Minns Labor government has been active in introducing new road safety measures, including the use of mobile phone detection cameras that will this year begin enforcing the use of seatbelts.

The government has also pioneered the carrot-and-stick approach through the demerit point scheme. More than 1.3 million NSW drivers remain eligible to have a demerit point removed from their licence when the first 12 months of the trial ends on 17 January if they maintain a spotless record for a year.

Minister for Roads Minister John Graham said:  

“The Minns Labor government is focused on improving road safety and making sure everyone gets home to their loved ones every time.

“The road toll has increased across Australia and many parts of the world after Covid. This forum is an opportunity to hear from experts who have had some success in reducing the road toll and identify new measures and actions from the Road Safety Plan that could be accelerated.

“In 2023, NSW experienced the tragic loss of 351 lives on our roads. The NSW Government is issuing a resounding call for every individual to make safe driving a resolution in 2024.

“Road safety is a shared responsibility that requires the collective efforts of government agencies, communities, and individuals. The forum will provide a platform to discuss new actions to save lives. 

Minister for Regional Roads Minister Jenny Aitchison said:

“While one third of our population lives in regional NSW, over two thirds of fatalities (70%) occur on regional roads.

“I have been out in the far north-west of regional, rural and remote NSW this week hearing directly from those communities about the road toll.

“Any death on a road is one too many but for regional communities where everyone knows everyone, it hits particularly hard.

“We all need to take responsibility for our actions when it comes to road safety. We need community involvement, particularly in the regions, if the government’s road safety initiatives are to succeed.  

“I hope regional leaders will participate in the forum to share their experiences and work with the government to find solutions to road safety issues.

“The forum will include discussion of how we can strengthen road safety enforcement and tackle unsafe road user behaviour.” 

Senator Carol Brown, Assistant Minister for Infrastructure and Transport said:

“Road safety is everyone’s responsibility – from local, state and territory governments as well as the Australian Government and individual road users.

“I look forward to the discussions had at the forum and how the outcomes can be carried through to the National Road Safety Conference shortly after. 

“The National Road Safety Conference has been convened to bring together road safety ministers and police ministers from across the country to engage on the worrying trends we are seeing on our roads.”

Protections for blue groper must be reviewed

The NSW Opposition has called on the Minns Labor Government to take urgent action to better protect NSW’s marine emblem, the Eastern Blue Groper.
 
Shadow Minister for the Environment Kellie Sloane said just last Friday, three female Blue Gropers were killed by a spear fisher on the NSW South Coast near Jervis Bay. This follows the January 5 spearing of a large Blue Groper at Cronulla.
 
“This is another senseless and deeply upsetting situation, and we need to make sure there are no more deaths of our iconic and much-loved Blue Groper fish this summer,” Ms Sloane said.
 
“While most recreational fishers in NSW are doing the right thing, some are either ignorant of the laws or are deliberately breaking them.”
 
“Blue Gropers are our Labradors of the sea, loved by many in our community, and the Minns Labor Government needs to urgently act to better protect this iconic fish. There is an urgent need for the NSW Government to invest in greater education campaigns, improve signage where spearfishing is occurring and review penalties to ensure they’re a sufficient deterrent.”
 
“In NSW, the Blue Groper sits alongside the Platypus and Kookaburra as part of our state emblems; they reflect the unique and rich diversity of our environment. Chris Minns and his government needs to listen to local communities, who care deeply about the iconic Blue Groper, and tell us what steps he will be taking to better protect our state’s marine emblem.”

Joint statement from the governments of Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Netherlands, New Zealand, Republic of Korea, United Kingdom, and the United States

Recognising the broad consensus as expressed by 44 countries around the world on December 19, 2023, as well as the statement by the UN Security Council on December 1, 2023, condemning Houthi attacks against merchant and commercial vessels transiting the Red Sea, our governments issued a joint statement on January 3, 2024, which called for the immediate end of illegal attacks and warned that malign actors would be held accountable should they continue to threaten lives, the global economy, and the free flow of commerce in the region’s critical waterways. Despite this strong warning, attacks in the Red Sea have continued, including the launch of numerous missiles and one-way attack aerial vehicles against ships in the Red Sea on January 9, 2024, including U.S. and UK vessels. On January 10, 2024, the UN Security Council passed UNSCR 2722, which also condemned these attacks and demanded that they cease.

In response to continued illegal, dangerous, and destabilising Houthi attacks against vessels, including commercial shipping, transiting the Red Sea, the armed forces of the United States and United Kingdom, with support from the Netherlands, Canada, Bahrain, and Australia, conducted joint strikes in accordance with the inherent right of individual and collective self-defence, consistent with the UN Charter, against a number of targets in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen. These precision strikes were intended to disrupt and degrade the capabilities the Houthis use to threaten global trade and the lives of international mariners in one of the world’s most critical waterways.

The Houthis’ more than two dozen attacks on commercial vessels since mid-November constitute an international challenge. Today’s action demonstrated a shared commitment to freedom of navigation, international commerce, and defending the lives of mariners from illegal and unjustifiable attacks.

Our aim remains to de-escalate tensions and restore stability in the Red Sea, but let our message be clear:

We will not hesitate to defend lives and protect the free flow of commerce in one of the world’s most critical waterways in the face of continued threats.

EMERSON REVIEW

The Labor Government’s review of the Grocery Code of Conduct must examine all options – including divestiture powers – to tackle the supermarket duopoly’s power, the Greens say.

“The announcement of this review is a testament to the persistent advocacy by the Greens and the Senate inquiry we are leading into supermarket price gouging,” Greens Economic Justice Spokesperson Senator Nick McKim said.

“This is a step in the right direction, but it is in no way a substitute for the Greens led Senate inquiry which has powers to compel evidence and testimony which will see Coles and Woolworths CEOs held to account publicly.“

“It is crucial that Labor’s review does not shy away from considering robust measures like divestiture powers.”

“Such powers are vital to dismantle monopolistic practices and ensure fair pricing for consumers.”

“Unlike Labor’s attempt to catch up, the Greens’ inquiry will force supermarket CEOs to appear before the Senate and try to justify their obscene profits.”

Joint Statement on DPRK-Russia Ballistic Missile Transfers

The following is a statement from the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Albania, Andorra, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, the Netherlands, New Zealand, North Macedonia, Norway, Palau, Poland, Portugal, the Republic of Korea, Romania, San Marino, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, the High Representative of the European Union, and the Secretary of State of the United States of America.

We condemn in the strongest possible terms the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s (DPRK) export and Russia’s procurement of DPRK ballistic missiles, as well as Russia’s use of these missiles against Ukraine on December 30, 2023, and January 2, 2024. The transfer of these weapons increases the suffering of the Ukrainian people, supports Russia’s war of aggression, and undermines the global non-proliferation regime. Russia’s use of DPRK ballistic missiles in Ukraine also provides valuable technical and military insights to the DPRK. We are deeply concerned about the security implications that this cooperation has in Europe, on the Korean Peninsula, across the Indo-Pacific region, and around the world.

Our governments stand together in resolute opposition to arms transfers between the DPRK and Russia. The transfer of ballistic missiles, along with any other arms and related materiel, from the DPRK to Russia flagrantly violates multiple United Nations Security Council resolutions (UNSCRs) – namely, resolution 1718 (2006), resolution 1874 (2009), and resolution 2270 (2016) – that Russia itself supported. We are closely monitoring what Russia provides to the DPRK in return for these weapons exports. We call on the DPRK and Russia to abide by relevant UNSCRs and to immediately cease all activities that violate them.

We urge all UN Member States, including all members of the United Nations Security Council, to join us in condemning Russia and the DPRK’s flagrant UNSCR violations. As Russia launches waves of missiles and drones against the Ukrainian people, we will continue to stand together in support of Ukraine. We further call on the DPRK to respond to the numerous and genuine offers to return to diplomacy, the only path to an enduring peace on the Korean Peninsula.

$500 long day care fee relief delivered

Parents across NSW can begin the process of saving on the cost of preschool thanks to a Minns government program to deliver fee relief for 3-year-olds in long day care.

The Minns government is delivering on its 2023-2024 budget commitment to make early childhood education and care more affordable and accessible over the next year, helping ease the cost-of-living pressures on households.

The 2-year trial will see an additional 64,000 families with 3-year-old children in eligible preschool programs in long day care centres receive $500 in fee relief, which came into effect on 1 January 2024.

It is part of a more than $100 million package of initiatives to invest in early learning and enhance the sector’s workforce, after opportunities in this important sector were missed by the Liberals and the Nationals.

Investment in quality early childhood education and care has lifelong benefits for NSW’s youngest learners and is a key to enabling parental workforce participation.

Families with children aged 4 or up who are enrolled in a preschool program at an eligible long day care centre will continue to have access to fee relief.

These cash savings are in addition to the Australian Government Childcare Subsidy (CCS) payments, which most families in long day care are eligible to receive.

Families need to complete a declaration form at their service to access the fee relief. Services will pass on the savings as a weekly reduction in fees.

From January 1, all NSW families could be eligible for:

  • up to $500 per year in fee relief for 3-year-olds attending eligible preschool programs in long day care on top of their CCS payment.
  • up to $2110 per year in fee relief for children aged 4-years-old and above attending eligible preschool programs in long day care on top of their CCS payment.
  • up to $4220 per year for 3-year-olds to 5-year-olds attending eligible community and mobile preschools.
  • 5 days a fortnight of affordable preschool fee relief for all children in Department of Education preschools.

For more information on the Start Strong Program Guidelines visit the NSW Department of Educationlaunch.

Premier of NSW Chris Minns said:

“More affordable preschool is a win-win for families across the state, as it helps ease the cost of living while also making it easier to earn a household income.

“This will mean more children can access early childhood education (ECEC), where they will also benefit from health and education initiatives that will provide them with the best start to their learning life no matter their post code or background.

“Research tells us that participation of 600 hours of quality ECEC in the 2 years before school has life-long benefits for children and supports them to be socially, emotionally and cognitively equipped as they transition to school.”