‘She should be more creative': Penny Wong slammed by former foreign minister
'She could have done two things, one is to improve the operation of the Quad … to strengthen the Western alliance, in particular in the Indo-Pacific region,' Mr Downer told Sky News host Danica De Giorgio.
'She should be more creative in building a more successful Quad, which will be a deterrent against Chinese aggression.'
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West Australian
an hour ago
- West Australian
UK in dire straits after finance minister's tears rattle markets
All eyes are now on the U.K.'s ruling Labour Party for any sign of further political fractures that could rattle Britain's economic stability, after the extraordinary sight of the country's finance minister crying in parliament on Wednesday. UK bond yields spiked and the pound sank against the dollar and euro as tears fell down Chancellor Rachel Reeves' face, as an apparently unaware Prime Minister Keir Starmer failed to back her when asked about her position during a heated parliamentary debate. The market moves were abrupt, as traders speculated that Reeves could be about to lose her job or potentially resign, taking her strict 'fiscal rules' on spending and borrowing with her. 'There are a lot of eyes on the UK,' Simon Pittaway, senior economist at the Resolution Foundation, told CNBC as the drama unfolded Wednesday. 'When it comes to the [next] Autumn Budget, whoever the chancellor is, they'll have some really difficult decisions to make. And I think, as far as we're concerned, sticking to the existing fiscal rules is really crucial, that's a move that would signal kind of credibility and confidence to the market' at a time when the country is under heavy scrutiny, he told CNBC's Ritika Gupta. 'Sticking to those fiscal rules, and depending on the government's priorities, some combination of higher taxes and lower spending, out towards the end of the forecast period might be the way forward,' Mr Pittaway said. The government scrambled the calm the situation amid spreading market tumult, with a spokesperson attributing Reeves's distress to a 'personal matter' without commenting further. The prime minister then told the BBC that he and the chancellor were 'in lockstep' and that he fully backed her. The comments seemed to placate markets, with London's FTSE 100 up almost 0.5 per cent on Thursday, with the British pound also higher against the euro and dollar. The yield on the UK's benchmark 10-year bonds, known as gilts, was down 6 basis points. On Thursday, Starmer and Reeves commented further on the drama in parliament with the prime minister telling Sky News that his finance minister had his full support, with the two politicians embracing as they attended a public event on Thursday. 'I have every faith in my chancellor,' Starmer told reporters, adding that 'she has made incredibly important decisions in the last 12 months and we wouldn't be doing what we're doing today without those important decisions,' he told Sky News. The chancellor, meanwhile, refused to give the reason for her upset but said her job was to be present at the weekly Prime Minister's Questions session in parliament, and to support the government. 'I guess the thing that maybe is a bit different between my job and many of your viewers' is that when I'm having a tough day it's on the telly and most people don't have to deal with that.' Reeves has come under sustained pressure since the last Autumn Budget, during which she unveiled a massive boost to public spending that would be largely funded by a big tax hike on British businesses and employers. She also said she would be implementing two fiscal rules to get the UK's debt pile and borrowing under control: firstly, that day-to-day government spending will be funded by tax revenues and not by borrowing, and, secondly, that public debt will fall as a share of economic output by 2029-30. The rules gave Reeves' Treasury little fiscal 'headroom,' however, and the little leeway she did have has been further eroded by the government rowing back welfare spending cuts in recent months. After another government U-turn this week, this time on disability benefits, Reeves must now find savings elsewhere — tricky, when she's just announced a massive public spending plans — break her borrowing rules or go against Labour's campaign pledges and hike taxes on workers later this year. On a wider level, following the latest climbdown on welfare, the Labour Party leadership will now have to wrangle with a rebellious group of backbench lawmakers who will feel emboldened to challenge the government on other potentially controversial reforms and spending cuts. 'The nature of what's happened over the last 48 hours, with the government's welfare bill being torn up, it means that the government's political and economic strategy are in absolute dire straits at the moment,' Max Wilson, director of public affairs at Whitehouse Communications, told CNBC on Thursday. The government finds itself with 'such little wiggle room' because of its previous political decisions and concessions to backbenchers, Wilson said. 'Financially, economically, there's very little that they can do, and Rachel Reeves has such a tough job on her hands now, finding the extra money without resorting to other actions that are going to upset the markets, including borrowing more or tax rises, so, really, I think the government left in an absolute bind here,' he noted.
Perth Now
3 hours ago
- Perth Now
Putin tells Trump he ‘won't back down' in hour-long call
US President Donald Trump pushed for a quick halt to the Ukraine war in a phone call with Vladimir Putin, while a Kremlin aide said the Russian president reiterated that Moscow would keep pushing to solve the conflict's 'root causes.' The two leaders did not discuss a recent pause in some US weapons shipments to Kyiv during the nearly hour-long call on Thursday, according to a readout provided by Putin aide Yuri Ushakov. Yuri Ushakov told reporters that while Mr Putin made clear 'Russia will not back down,' he also expressed a willingness to pursue a political and negotiated solution to the conflict. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, meanwhile, told reporters in Denmark that he hopes to speak to Mr Trump as soon as Friday about the ongoing pause in some weapons shipments, which was first disclosed earlier this week. Mr Trump did not immediately comment on the conversation with Mr Putin, but he said on social media beforehand that he would speak to the Russian leader. 'Root causes' has become Russian shorthand for issue of NATO enlargement and Western support for Ukraine, including the rejection of any notion of Ukraine joining the NATO alliance. Russian leaders are also angling to establish greater control over political decisions made in Kyiv and other eastern European capitals, NATO leaders have said. The diplomatic back-and-forth comes as the US has paused shipments of certain critical weapons to Ukraine due to low stockpiles, sources earlier told Reuters. That decision led to Ukraine calling in the acting US envoy to Kyiv on Wednesday to underline the importance of military aid from Washington, and caution that the move would weaken Ukraine's ability to defend against intensifying Russian air strikes and battlefield advances. The Pentagon's move led in part to a cut in deliveries of Patriot air defence missiles that Ukraine relies on to destroy fast-moving ballistic missiles, Reuters reported on Wednesday. Ushakov, the Kremlin aide, said the issue of weapons deliveries to Ukraine did not come up during the Trump-Putin phone call. Ushakov added that while Russia was open to continuing to speak with the US, any peace negotiations needed to occur between Moscow and Kyiv. That comment comes amid some indications that Moscow is trying to avoid a trilateral format for any peace negotiations. The Russians asked American diplomats to leave the room during such a meeting in Istanbul in early June, Ukrainian officials have said. Mr Trump and Mr Putin did not talk about a face-to-face meeting, Ushakov said.
West Australian
3 hours ago
- West Australian
Putin tells Trump he ‘Russia won't back down' in Ukraine during hour-long phone call, Zelensky asks for weapons
US President Donald Trump pushed for a quick halt to the Ukraine war in a phone call with Vladimir Putin, while a Kremlin aide said the Russian president reiterated that Moscow would keep pushing to solve the conflict's 'root causes.' The two leaders did not discuss a recent pause in some US weapons shipments to Kyiv during the nearly hour-long call on Thursday, according to a readout provided by Putin aide Yuri Ushakov. Yuri Ushakov told reporters that while Mr Putin made clear 'Russia will not back down,' he also expressed a willingness to pursue a political and negotiated solution to the conflict. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, meanwhile, told reporters in Denmark that he hopes to speak to Mr Trump as soon as Friday about the ongoing pause in some weapons shipments, which was first disclosed earlier this week. Mr Trump did not immediately comment on the conversation with Mr Putin, but he said on social media beforehand that he would speak to the Russian leader. 'Root causes' has become Russian shorthand for issue of NATO enlargement and Western support for Ukraine, including the rejection of any notion of Ukraine joining the NATO alliance. Russian leaders are also angling to establish greater control over political decisions made in Kyiv and other eastern European capitals, NATO leaders have said. The diplomatic back-and-forth comes as the US has paused shipments of certain critical weapons to Ukraine due to low stockpiles, sources earlier told Reuters. That decision led to Ukraine calling in the acting US envoy to Kyiv on Wednesday to underline the importance of military aid from Washington, and caution that the move would weaken Ukraine's ability to defend against intensifying Russian air strikes and battlefield advances. The Pentagon's move led in part to a cut in deliveries of Patriot air defence missiles that Ukraine relies on to destroy fast-moving ballistic missiles, Reuters reported on Wednesday. Ushakov, the Kremlin aide, said the issue of weapons deliveries to Ukraine did not come up during the Trump-Putin phone call. Ushakov added that while Russia was open to continuing to speak with the US, any peace negotiations needed to occur between Moscow and Kyiv. That comment comes amid some indications that Moscow is trying to avoid a trilateral format for any peace negotiations. The Russians asked American diplomats to leave the room during such a meeting in Istanbul in early June, Ukrainian officials have said. Mr Trump and Mr Putin did not talk about a face-to-face meeting, Ushakov said.
