Regional growth fueling retail and dining sectors
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and top business leaders have discussed the major economic and political issues facing the nation at Australia's Economic Outlook 2025.
'The move of population into the regions has been really big and one in three Australians now live in regional Australia,' Mr Kitchen said at Australia's Economic Outlook.
'They have the same expectations of convenience that we do here.
'That's been a trend that we have been phenomenally surprised at the amount of adoption and demand from restaurants, retailers and consumers in the regions as well.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
West Australian
35 minutes ago
- West Australian
Anthony Albanese's China visit: Prime Minister set to travel to Beijing, Shanghai and Chengdu from Saturday
Anthony Albanese has confirmed his visit to China from Saturday, when he is heading to Beijing, Shanghai and Chengdu. The Prime Minister is expected to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang for the annual bilateral leaders' dialogue during the trip that will span nearly a week. Trade is expected to be high on the agenda, with these meetings the first since China lifted its final barriers on Australian exports. The ban on Australian lobsters was lifted in December. 'China's an important trading partner for Australia – 25 per cent of our exports go to China. What that means is jobs, and one of the things that my government prioritises is jobs,' Mr Albanese said on Tuesday. 'What we have done is to get rid of the more than $20 billion of impediments on goods that were stopped from going to China. 'It's made an enormous difference … products like wine and barley have not just bounced back, they've bounced back higher than they were before.' This will be the fourth time Mr Albanese has met Mr Xi. The talks come as uncertainty continues around US President Donald Trump's tariffs. The US President has publicly issued letters he has sent to several countries, including Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Indonesia, South Africa and Serbia, informing them he will lift the rate of tariffs imposed on them from 10 per cent to a 'reciprocal' level from August 1. Australia, which has a trade surplus with the US, does not expect to be hit with anything higher than the 10 per cent base rate. China's ambassador to Australia, Xiao Qian, this week called for Australia to expand its trade deal with his country to include greater cooperation on artificial intelligence. Mr Albanese brushed off questions about his approach to this, saying Australia would determine its own policy. Australia is working with the US and UK to cooperate on developing AI and advanced military capabilities as part of AUKUS Pillar II.
West Australian
4 hours ago
- West Australian
Australian news and politics live: RBA expected to cut rates again, calls for national anti-hate taskforce
Scroll down for the latest news and updates. Australians are bracing for another interest rate cut, with the Reserve Bank of Australia widely expected to lower the cash rate by 0.25 percentage points at 2.30pm on Tuesday, bringing it to 3.60 per cent. All four major banks: ANZ, Commonwealth Bank, NAB, and Westpac have forecast the move, citing weaker household spending, softer inflation, and ongoing global uncertainty as key drivers. Economists say a cut would trim around $76 a month from repayments on a typical $500,000 mortgage, adding up to nearly $230 in savings from three cuts since February. While that's welcome news for existing borrowers, it's also intensifying competition in the property market, with buyers rushing to secure homes before prices climb further. Read more.
West Australian
14 hours ago
- West Australian
Anthony Albanese jetting off to China this week for important meeting with president Xi Jinping
Anthony Albanese is expected to receive a red carpet reception when he travels to China this weekend to meet President Xi Jinping. His trip will mark the pair's fourth meeting and Mr Albanese's second visit to China since he was elected Prime Minister in May 2022. After thawing the diplomatic freeze formed under predecessor Scott Morrison post his COVID-inquiry call, trade and investment are expected to be a heavy focus of Mr Albanese's discussions. Following their first face-to-face on the sidelines the G20 summit in Bali in 2022, Mr Albanese had travelled to Beijing in November 2023. The trip marked the first Australian PM to visit China since 2016. Their most recent meeting in November 2024 was at the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro. While the PM's last whirlwind three-day visit in 2023 divided time between Shanghai and Beijing — Mr Albanese has added Chengdu to the itinerary this time. The city of 21 million in the south-western province of Sichuan is China's famous panda hotspot. This trip will also span five days and will be joined by a media contingent and delegation of high-profile business executives. It's expected to include senior figures from BHP, Rio Tinto, BlueScope Steel, HSBC and Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer. China is WA's number one trading partner with merchandise exports to the country last year valued at $135.6 billion dollars. One in four jobs in the State rely on Beijing to export goods.
