Labor tipped to step up Darwin Port sale after PM's China visit
Industry players say there had been a bureaucratic go-slow over making the port's owner, Landbridge, divest the asset despite Anthony Albanese and the Coalition promising in April during the election campaign to bring the port back into Australian hands.
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Sydney Morning Herald
6 hours ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
It's a long shot. But Sydney FC should be applauded for having a crack at Thomas Müller
Domestically, the Australian football economy continues to shrink. Club distributions are down from over $3 million per season to an all-time low of $530,000, and so most clubs don't even bother trying to sign big names. It's beyond them, and there is little appetite from club owners to dig their hands even further into their pockets. And when they do, they have to settle for the likes of Douglas Costa, who had already had his run through MLS by the time he washed up at the Sky Blues last season, but has proved to be a worthy signing, or Juan Mata, who was many years past his peak when Western Sydney Wanderers had the chance to grab him - as evidenced by his on-field output. Mata might yet return next season, but if he does, he'll be a luxury add-on for the Wanderers, rather than a key starting player. A-League clubs have largely pivoted towards bringing through academy players - and so they should. They've finally learned how to turn young, homegrown talent into sizeable transfer fees, and flipping kids for cash is the only way they can be sustainable in the long term. It's good for the game, too. It's a shift that is already benefiting the Socceroos and, in turn, will reinforce the A-League's legitimacy as a breeding ground and relevance for the many fans in Australia who follow European football but not the local product. The more that A-League alumni players can reach the top levels, the more it says to the unconverted that our competition is worth keeping a close eye on. But that can't be all that the A-League is, or will be. For one thing, those youngsters need to have hardened pros next to them in the dressing room to learn from. If the A-League was too reliant on experienced players in the past, it now runs the risk of going too far the other way. A careful balance has to be struck. Star power has always been the thing that moves the needle in this country, but it's never been more true than today. As mass culture continues to splinter into a million micro-niches, the need to have something - or someone - with cut-through power is critical. Müller is that sort of someone. And for every player who opts for the megabucks, there might be one per cent of them who are happy to forego those earnings for the glorious Australian lifestyle, of which the appeal to foreigners we sometimes underestimate because we're so lucky to experience it 24/7. Del Piero, don't forget, turned down more money elsewhere - and even a contract offer from Liverpool - because he was so attracted by the wonders of Sydney. Loading To ask the question of Müller is to send a message to the rest of the football world - and to sceptical local fans - that the A-League still has ambition. There's no risk in trying. In fact, the risk is not trying, and never knowing if he might have been the next Del Piero. At worst, you get a polite rejection. At best, you spark the sort of rare moment that can reignite interest in the domestic game, especially at a time when eyeballs are hard to win.
The Age
7 hours ago
- The Age
With no one to take over, Australia's oldest Chinese restaurant is closing
'We are getting old,' says Sai Yoke 'Sue' Wong, 74, who runs Toi Shan in Bendigo with her husband, Kok Hem 'Peter' Chee, 71. 'We have been wanting to retire for a long time. We looked for someone to take over, but no one has.' The couple will permanently close their restaurant in Bendigo's CBD on July 30. It will later reopen as an Indian restaurant. Toi Shan has been around since 1948, when Allan Chan took over On Loong cookshop and renamed it after the southern Chinese city he was born in, more commonly transliterated as Taishan. On Loong, however, dates back further, possibly to 1892. Its first iteration was on Bridge Street, in the heart of Bendigo's Chinatown, and it moved to the current location on Mitchell Street in 1942. The Chan family sold the business to Sue Wong's family in 2003. 'We've been here 20 years,' says Wong. 'It's a hard job with long hours. Staff are hard to find, and you don't make enough money to pay them anyway, so you work until midnight. One day it's busy, two days quiet, one day busy. It's hard for old guys.'
7NEWS
8 hours ago
- 7NEWS
The Issue with Tim Lester: 7NEWS sits down with the Ukraine's ambassador to Australia Vasyl Myroshnychenko
For Vasyl Myroshnychenko, going home is always going to be a hell of a trip. 'Overnight, it was just a massive drone and missile attack,' he says, telling how he was jarred in and out of sleep by explosions. 'So it was one of those tough nights.' The 44-year-old has been Ukraine's Ambassador in Australia since March 2022, taking the job in the days after Vladimir Putin's forces invaded his country. In the years since, Myroshnychenko has been a regular traveller between his work in Canberra and his long-term home in Kyiv. I spoke with him by video call in his Kyiv apartment, in the middle of his ninth trip back as Ambassador. With each trip, there's news on the war's toll. This time, Myroshnychenko learns about a hometown classmate who vanished two years ago. A DNA test on remains, recently discovered, has only just confirmed his death. His burial was held two days before my conversation with the Ambassador. 'And he's got two kids, his wife left behind. And there are numerous stories like that,' he said. For Myroshnychenko, it's critical Australians care about Ukraine's fight to turn back the Russian invasion. 'You're invested in the deterrence,' he said. 'Russians are conducting joint naval military exercises with Indonesia. 'They requested Indonesia … grant them access to an airfield in Papua. 'How far is Papua from Cairns? It's just around the corner. 'They wanted to have their strategic bombers.' He's referring to the controversy that erupted in April, mid-federal election campaign in Australia, with claims Russia had asked Indonesia to base long-range military aircraft at a military airfield in Papua, North of Darwin. Indonesia quickly reassured the Albanese Government that any such request would be turned down. The underlying concern — around Russia's long term plans in Australia's region — was left unaddressed. For Myroshnychenko, Russia's behaviour in Ukraine tells us all we need to know about its intentions. Worse, he argues, it is leading the way to anarchy. 'If Russia can get away with what they've done because they've got nuclear weapons, because they're a permanent member of the UN Security Council, guess what? Everybody else can do it,' he said. 'What kind of world are we going to live in? Is it a world of a jungle where the might is right? Can Australia survive in the world of a jungle?' On the state of the war, the Ambassador says he's optimistic. 'I believe Ukraine is winning,' he said. Myroshnychenko points to Ukraine's now infamous 'Operation Spider Web'. About 117 remote-controlled drones were smuggled into Russia over an 18-month period and launched toward prized Russian strategic bombers parked at airbases across the country. The raid damaged or destroyed roughly one-third of Russia's long-range strike fleet. 'This is asymmetric warfare. This is what Australia should learn from Ukraine,' Myroshnychenko said. As Ambassador, Myroshnychenko is regularly promoting deeper contacts between Ukraine's and Australia's militaries. 'I hope you never have to fight, but if you do … because you are a smaller country … most likely your enemy will be much bigger, right?' he said. 'War is a mother of innovation. War is driving that change, is driving the transformation, one way or another,' he says. It's the silver lining Myroshnychenko sees in his country's deadly fight with Russia. 'You can assist us, but you can also benefit from us.' For more from Tim Lester and his interview with Vasyl Myroshnychenko, you can watch their full conversation for The Issue in the video above or subscribe to the podcast here.
