Australia set to pass contentious tax cuts bill as parliament resumes
Sydney, Australia Reuters Australia looks set to pass a reshaped tax cuts bill, that would give low-income earners more breaks and trim benefits to the wealthy, as the opposition pledged support on Tuesday after initially criticising the government’s shift in policy. The conservative opposition’s decision came as the parliament resumed after a two-month recess. Australian […]
Australia PM considers extra inflation relief as families struggle
Sydney, AustraliaReuters Australia Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Wednesday his centre-left government would consider new cost-of-living relief measures ahead of the May budget but without stoking inflation. Australian households are under broad financial pressure from high inflation, which spiked as high as 7.8 per cent in December, 2022, before slowing to 5.4 per cent […]
Australia plans to halve migrant intake, tighten student visa rules
Sydney, AustraliaReuters Australia on Monday said it would tighten visa rules for international students and low-skilled workers that could halve its migrant intake over the next two years as the government looks to overhaul what it said was a “broken” migration system. The decision comes after net immigration was expected to have peaked at a […]
Australia signs climate, migration and security pact with Pacific’s Tuvalu
Sydney, AustraliaReuters Australia Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Friday signed a bilateral agreement with Tuvalu, aimed at countering China’s influence in the Pacific and protecting the tiny island nation from climate change. The agreement, which Albanese said made Australia Tuvalu’s “partner of choice”, covers climate change, security and human mobility. “The Australia-Tuvalu Falepili union will […]
China, Australia agree to turn the page as tensions ease
Beijing, China Reuters President Xi Jinping said on Monday stable ties between China and Australia served each other’s interests and both should expand their cooperation, sending a clear signal that Beijing was ready to move on from recent tensions. China and Australia should promote the development of their strategic partnership as they build up mutual […]
Sydney Opera House celebrates 50th birthday with light show and free tours
Sydney, AustraliaReuters Sydney Opera House celebrated its 50th birthday on Friday, with a laser show planned to illuminate the iconic building. Officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 20 October 1973, the Opera House is widely regarded as one of the greatest architectural designs of the 20th century, with 10.9 million people visiting every year. […]
Australia’s Albanese takes share of blame for Indigenous referendum failure
Sydney, AustraliaReuters Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Monday he accepted his share of blame for the failure of a referendum question on Indigenous recognition that could weaken his authority. More than 60 per cent of Australians voted “No” in the landmark referendum on Saturday that asked whether to alter the constitution to recognise […]
Voting begins in Australia in landmark Indigenous Voice referendum
Sydney, AustraliaReuters Australians began voting on Saturday in a historic referendum, the first in almost a quarter of a century, to decide whether to recognise its First Peoples in the constitution, as requested by the country’s Indigenous leaders six years ago. Australians will simply write “Yes” or “No” on the ballot paper, after a question […]
More than 80 Australian Baptist leaders throw support behind ‘yes’ vote as referendum nears
Geelong, Australia More than 80 Australian Baptist leaders have signed a public letter supporting a ‘Yes’ vote in the upcoming referendum on the proposed Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ‘Voice to Parliament’. The Baptist Leaders for Yes group, which published the letter on Friday, says the referendum “stands as a once in a generation opportunity to […]
Rio’s latest rock shelter damage highlights need for Aboriginal Voice, advocates say
Melbourne, Australia Reuters Damage caused to an Aboriginal rock shelter by mining giant Rio Tinto in August underscores the need for better heritage protection laws and a greater say for Indigenous groups promised in this month’s Voice referendum, advocates say. Rio admitted on 21st September to damaging a rock shelter on 6th August in Western […]