From 1h ago Chris Bowen throws back to Coalition on energy price rises The energy minister is borrowing a turn of phrase out of Julia Gillard’s misogyny speech when asked about the Coalition’s suggestion that capping coal and gas prices will, in the longer run, increase prices. Chris Bowen: I invite the Coalition to have a look in the mirror. I mean, he had the independent energy regulator this morning pointing out that without the intervention, the price rises would have been closer to 50%. An intervention that Mr Dutton…
Tag: Australian military
China says Aukus submarines deal embarks on ‘path of error and danger’
China has accused the US, UK and Australia of embarking on a “path of error and danger” in response to the Aukus partners’ announcement of a deal on nuclear-powered submarines. “The latest joint statement from the US, UK and Australia demonstrates that the three countries, for the sake of their own geopolitical interests, completely disregard the concerns of the international communities and are walking further and further down the path of error and danger,” China’s foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said during a regular press briefing on Tuesday. The multibillion-dollar…
Penny Wong hits back at China’s claim Aukus nuclear submarines will fuel an arms race
The Australian foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, has hit back at China’s response to Aukus, insisting that its criticisms of the nuclear-powered submarine deal are “not grounded in fact”. In an interview with Guardian Australia, Wong also signalled that she planned to make further visits to south-east Asia and the Pacific to reassure the region that Australia does not seek to escalate military tensions. After the announcement of a multi-decade plan that could cost as much as $368bn between now and the mid-2050s, Wong said no rational observer could conclude…
What is the Aukus submarine deal and what does it mean? – the key facts
In a tripartite deal with the US and the UK, Australia has unveiled a plan to acquire a fleet of up to eight nuclear-powered submarines, forecast to cost up to $368bn between now and the mid-2050s. Australia will spend $9bn over the next four years. From this year Australian military and civilian personnel will embed with US and UK navies, including within both countries’ submarine industrial bases. From 2027 the UK and the US plan to rotate their nuclear-powered submarines through HMAS Stirling near Perth as part of a push…
Australia news live: Aukus nuclear powered subs deal revealed with $368bn price tag over next three decades
From 26m ago Key points of Aukus submarine deal Daniel Hurst has also broken the announcement down into key points for you: Australia’s entire nuclear-powered submarine program – including acquisition, construction and sustainment – is forecast to cost $268bn to $368bn between now and the mid 2050s, most of it beyond the first four-year budget period. This includes $9bn over the initial four-year budget period. The $9bn over the forward estimates is an increase of $3bn compared with the $6bn earmarked for the abandoned French project – and Defence is…
Kevin Rudd: Australia’s incoming ambassador to US says balloon saga threatens push to ease tensions with China
The incoming Australian ambassador to the United States, Kevin Rudd, has warned the Chinese balloon saga has created new “diplomatic clouds” that put at risk recent efforts to ease tensions between Beijing and Washington. In a speech in Brisbane on Wednesday, Rudd also warned against expecting any “softening in China’s ideological cleavage with the west”. Rudd, a former Labor prime minister who remains as president of the Asia Society until late next month, emphasised that he was offering “personal reflections” which “do not represent the views of the Australian government”.…
Australia politics live: ballooning rental prices to fuel inflation, Treasury says
From 31m ago Inflation in rental prices expected to increase: Treasury You may have noticed he mentioned rental increases there. It is not great news for that already tight market, according to Treasury: Rising housing costs remain a source of cost-of-living pressures for many households. Inflation in newly advertised rental prices has been rising sharply for around a year, reaching 10 per cent nationally in January. The national vacancy rate has reached a near-record low of around 1%. Despite the slowdown in population growth during the pandemic, underlying demand for…
‘We don’t have limitless resources’: Australian government prepared to scale back defence projects
Richard Marles has signalled the Australian government is prepared to scale back some defence projects to fund others in a major shake-up, declaring “we don’t have limitless resources”. The deputy prime minister said the government would weigh up “how best we can use the resources that we have to make sure that we have a defence force which maximises Australia’s capability”. In his first substantive interview of the year, Marles refused to rule out the possibility Australia’s first nuclear-powered submarines could be built offshore before production in South Australia can…
Australian officials warned in 2021 about possible recruitment of ex-ADF members by Chinese military
Australian government officials were first warned a year and a half ago about alleged attempts to recruit former defence force personnel to train the Chinese military, the defence department has revealed. But it is unclear what action, if any, the then defence minister, Peter Dutton, took at the time. The current defence minister, Richard Marles, appeared to have been spurred into action when the issue hit the media about two months ago. Marles announced in mid-October he had asked his department to investigate claims that some Australian pilots may be…
Australia news live: ‘couldn’t think of anything more distressing for victim-survivors’ – Daniel Andrews rules out George Pell state funeral
From 44m ago No state funeral service for George Pell: Victorian premier Benita Kolovos Victoria’s premier, Daniel Andrews, says there will not be a state funeral service for George Pell out of respect for victims of institutional child sexual abuse. Asked if Pell, who died on Wednesday morning AEDT from heart complications arising from hip replacement surgery in Rome, would receive a state-funded service, he replied that he would not: I couldn’t think of anything that would be more distressing for victim-survivors than that. <gu-island name="TweetBlockComponent" deferuntil="visible" props="{"element":{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TweetBlockElement","html":" Victoria's premier,…