Latest news with #Anthony Albanese
The Guardian
9 hours ago
- Business
- The Guardian
Scott Morrison to testify before US House panel on China
The former Australian prime minister Scott Morrison will testify at a US House panel hearing next week about countering China's 'economic coercion against democracies,' the committee said on Friday. Rahm Emanuel, the former US ambassador to Japan, will also testify before the House select committee on China. Relations with China, already rocky after Australia banned Huawei from its 5G broadband network in 2018, cooled further in 2020 after the Morrison government called for an independent investigation into the origins of the Covid-19 virus. China responded by imposing tariffs on Australian commodities, including wine and barley and limited imports of Australian beef, coal and grapes, moves described by the United States as 'economic coercion'. Morrison was defeated in a bid for reelection in 2022. His successor, Anthony Albanese, visited China this week, underscoring a warming of ties. Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email The prime minister spent this week touring the country with stops in Beijing, Shanghai and Chengdu amid a period of geopolitical instability and escalating trade hostilities between the US and its trading partners. Albanese also sniped back at the opposition's criticism of his 'indulgent' six-day visit, pointing out the former Coalition government failed to hold a single phone call with the major trading partner for years. Reuters reported this week that Canberra is close to an agreement with Beijing that would allow Australian suppliers to ship five trial canola cargoes to China, sources familiar with the matter said, a move towards ending a years-long freeze in the trade. China imposed 100% tariffs on Canadian canola meal and oil this year amid strained diplomatic ties. Emanuel, who told a Chicago news outlet last month he is considering a run for president in 2028, has been a harsh critic of China, saying last year Beijing constantly uses coercion and pressures other countries, including Japan and the Philippines. Sign up to Breaking News Australia Get the most important news as it breaks after newsletter promotion 'Economic coercion by China is their most persistent and pernicious tool in their toolbox,' Emanuel said in a separate speech in 2023. The Chinese embassy in Washington did not immediately comment.
ABC News
17 hours ago
- Business
- ABC News
Anthony Albanese's China visit sought to 'stabilise the relationship'
The Chinese don't seem to do things by halves. The city of Chengdu in China's south-west has a history of continuous occupation dating back over 2000 years. But drive through this metropolis of 21 million people and you would be lucky to see a building that is more than 30 years old. And it looks and feels very prosperous. Chengdu is part of the staggering economic and social transformation that has taken place in China over the past four decades and it only seems to be speeding up. They are building a completely new suburban city, named the Great City, on the outskirts of Chengdu which will house 80,000 people in just 1.3 kilometres of land when it is estimated to be completed in 2040. Fifteen per cent of the land will be devoted to parks and landscaped space. The idea is that you will only ever be a 15-minute walk from the city centre and so won't need a car. And it is estimated the city will use 48 per cent less energy and 58 per cent less water and produce 89 per cent less landfill waste and 60 per cent less carbon dioxide than a city with the same population. For self-described "infrastructure nerd" Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, the city is mesmerising. Albanese told journalists at his final press conference of his six-day visit to China that he wanted them to go back and tell Australians about what was happening there, even in places beyond Beijing and Shanghai, as part of his mission to re-emphasise the importance of Australia's economic relationship with China, as opposed to just the focus on the rising superpower as a strategic threat. There is a great sense abroad, when you are in China, that you are looking at the future, even as the United States seems determined to relegate itself to the past. English commentator Ambrose Evans-Pritchard wrote in London's The Telegraph recently: "China's leaders must be wondering whether they are hallucinating or whether America's political class really has lost its mind, committing economic and geopolitical self-harm on a breathtaking scale. Donald Trump's 'big beautiful bill' marks a wholesale retreat from swaths of advanced manufacturing and energy technology. It abandons a central front of the Sino-American superpower contest without a fight." There's some sense of the tin ear, too, in the way the US is conducting itself in the strategic space, at least as far as Australia is concerned. In what was seen as a fairly blatant attempt by the US — our biggest strategic partner — to disrupt Albanese's visit to our biggest economic partner, a story appeared in the Financial Times last weekend reporting that US Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Elbridge Colby has been privately pushing Australia and Japan for pre-commitment to support the US in a future conflict over the Taiwan Strait. It was a push that was met with incredulity by official circles in Australia, and publicly with a polite but complete rebuff from the prime minister. "We, of course, are a sovereign nation," the PM told the ABC when asked if the US push was somewhat presumptuous. "The US alliance has been our most important alliance. It remains our most important alliance. That is a critical relationship that we have for our defence and security. But that doesn't abrogate the need for Australia to have the last say in our own defence and security relationships." The pressure was coming from a nation that has long had a policy of "strategic ambiguity" over Taiwan: that is, not saying how it would respond if China chose to forcefully bring Taiwan under its control. "The United States has had a policy of strategic ambiguity over these issues," the PM told the ABC. "It's one that's been shared by Australia. We don't want to see any change to the status quo. "We have supported the one China policy, as does the United States, as part of the recognition of China that occurred, in our case, under Gough Whitlam." There's also quite a lot of questioning among analysts of the US's broader commitment to the Asia-Pacific too, let alone whether it would ultimately commit to full-scale war over Taiwan. Barack Obama's "pivot" to the region never really took off. The region has never really been a clear priority for Trump. Joe Biden talked about it but not much happened. Except, of course, Australia's position as a physical base for the American military continues to grow: from B52 bombers and troops in Northern Australia to US nuclear submarines in Perth. So is the PM confident that the US is committed to the region? "Well, I'm confident that it is in the United States's interests," he said. "Of course they have a major presence in their Pacific nation there, and their naval presence based in Hawaii is one, where Australia participates with our allies, there in Hawaii. And I've visited the centre there and engaged with the leadership there in the Pacific. And I think that the United States will continue to be engaged. That's an important thing for their presence and we welcome it." But do the recent actions of Trump raise a question about the reliability of the US as an ally? Those actions have included everything from unilaterally bombing Iran, to imposing tough tariffs on allies. "We continue to express our support for the relationship with the United States", he says. "It is our most important ally and we continue to have constructive relations with the US." Trump's war on the world has been focused primarily on trade wars, rather than shooting wars. The prime minister has been criticised by the opposition for failing to have a meeting so far with Trump. "I note on tariffs that there's no country that has received a better deal than Australia," Albanese said. "I have engaged constructively with members of the Trump administration, as have other members of my government. "In the discussions I've had with him, they have been constructive and they certainly have not engaged in any negativity around AUKUS. "And when I visited the United States for my state visit [during the Biden presidency] and met with so many members of Congress and the Senate, there was overwhelming support for the AUKUS arrangements." Australians really haven't had much of a chance to see a debate about AUKUS because it was signed quickly and both sides of politics agreed to it. But in the wake of the Colby comments, the question of just commitments that may have been made to take part in US military actions comes into sharp focus. "Well, Australia's a sovereign nation and governments of the day make decisions on behalf of the Australian government and certainly I cannot envisage a circumstance where an Australian government would give up that sovereignty," the PM told the ABC. "Now I note in recent days most of the Coalition have said that that's the case. Angus Taylor has said something different and it's up to them to really clarify exactly what their position is." The PM continues to insist that the nuclear submarines that are central to the AUKUS plan are essential to our defence strategy. "What we've done is invested in our capability, but also invested in our relationships," he said. "When it comes to our capability, the getting, obtaining by Australia of nuclear powered submarines has a number of advantages over other pieces of military equipment. "The fact that a nuclear-powered submarine can stay under, submerge for longer, that it can travel further, that it's quieter, that it's less detectable means that it's an investment which my government agreed with the former government, was in Australia's national interest. " As for his visit to China. People often want to know what material benefits come out of such a trip (and Opposition Leader Sussan Ley was asking that very question on Thursday). But Albanese says the importance was in the relationship rather than the transactions. "This is about stabilising the relationship," he said. "It was at a bad point prior to our election in 2022. Since then, we have seen over $20 billion of trade impediments removed and we're now exporting large amounts, in some cases more than we were before." Barley into China as well as wine, our other agricultural exports, as well as our resources exports. "One of the really significant meetings that we've had here is on steel decarbonisation. Iron ore represents by far our largest export by value, and overwhelmingly it comes here to China," Albanese said. "China produces over 50 per cent of the world's steel. If we're going to address the emissions reduction that the globe needs, then steel decarbonisation has to be a part of that and the idea of combining green metals, green steel production is something that is very significant to take the world forward as well as being in our national economic interest." But none of this can take away from the sense of unease many feel about China's aggressive military build-up in the region and there have been many references in the past week to the tightrope the PM has had to walk between economic and strategic interests. "You've just gotta be clear and consistent," he said when asked about how much of a tightrope act it really is. "We have different political systems. We have different values, but we shouldn't allow our differences to define us. "We should acknowledge what they are, be prepared to engage with them, engage with them constructively. "My three phrases I consistently use, and have used, since the time I was Labor leader in opposition is that we should cooperate where we can, disagree where we must, and there are areas where we will continue to disagree but engage in our national interest." The appearance of Chinese military vessels off the east coast of Australia — and the live firing exercises that they undertook — has caused consternation to many but the PM points out we can't have one policy for us and another for China. "When it comes to military exercises, of course in international waters, Australia participates regularly in exercises, including around the South China Sea," he said. That is, on China's doorstep. "So we shouldn't be surprised that there will be exercises conducted. What we should do is seek greater clarification, greater notice to make sure there's no misadventure there. As I said at the time we did acknowledge that it was within international law." Like the building projects in Chengdu, there doesn't seem to be a lot done by halves on strategic issues in China either. There was an implicit acknowledgement from President Xi this week that China also had to change its method of engagement with Australia — which had become particularly aggressive during the so-called Wolf Warrior era. Now, the Albanese visit has proved a textbook case of China trying to portray itself as the steady and calm adult in the global room. While Donald Trump has had his focus on the Middle East, Ukraine and NATO, it will turn directly to China when he visits here in a couple of months' time. Australia will only be able to watch from the sidelines about who outdoes who in that meeting. Laura Tingle is the ABC's Global Affairs Editor.
SBS Australia
a day ago
- Business
- SBS Australia
SBS News In Easy English 18 July 2025
Welcome to SBS News in Easy English, I'm Biwa Kwan. Anthony Albanese says his six-day tour of China has been successful, resulting in outcomes that will boost the bilateral relationship. The prime minister is ending his trip in the regional city of Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province, before he flies out of the country to return to Australia. Mr Albanese says it has been a productive trip, including the meeting with China's President Xi Jinping. "One of the theme of our discussions was improving people-to-people and cultural links between people in Australia and China. And I can think of no better way then through the sporting engagement at what is the iconic sporting event in Australia - our Australian Open. Indeed the last Australian prime minister to visit Sichuan was Bob Hawke in 1986. And that time he launched an annual Australia-China tennis challenge. A gesture of goodwill between our nations." The late Yolngu Elder and land rights pioneer, Dr Galarrwuy Yunupingu, has been officially awarded the nation's highest civilian honour, two years after his death. The Companion of the Order of Australia was accepted by his eldest daughter, Binmila, from Governor-General Sam Mostyn, who travelled to north-east Arnhem Land to present the award in person. The Governor General says Dr Yunupingu would have viewed the award in his own way. "But I am also aware that in the 50th year of the Australian honours and awards system, this may be an award that Dr Yunupingu may not have really seen as necessary. Or seen as adding to the way he lived his life. In a way it is an important thing that we are doing in acknowledging his life through a system that must sit alongside something else that Dr Yunupingu said in his essay. He spoke of an allegiance to each other, to land and to ceremonies that define Yolngu." Australia's unemployment rate has risen slightly, from 4.1 to 4.2 per cent. It is the highest unemployment rate since November 2021. The number of unemployed people increased by 34,000; and the number of people with a full-time job fell by 38,000. Analysts say the figure will be a deciding factor on whether the Reserve Bank decies to make an interest rate cut. An Australian innovation is hoping to revolutionise landmine clearance. According to NATO's Strategic Warfare Development Command, there are still 110 million landmines around the world. The world's largest landmine clearance charity, the HALO Trust, says over 5,700 civilians were killed or injured by landmines and explosives in 2023. John Shanahan is the Managing Director of Mread, an Australian company working in collaboration with the C-S-I-R-O. He says the teams have developed the first handheld device using low frequency radio waves to identify explosives. "Every explosive, or drugs which we detect has a fingerprint. We are the only sensor that can detect the actual fingerprint. So not that there's an anomaly there, as we talked about earlier, it's just, this is that substance. It's just binary as that." In cycling, Tadej Pogacar has regained the overall lead of the Tour de France, after winning stage 12. The three-time Tour winner completed stage on the first major mountain of the race ahead of Jonas Vingegaard [[YOH-nuss vin-nee-GOH]] with a margin of two minutes 10 seconds. Pogacar dedicated the stage win to 19-year-old Italian cyclist Samuele Privitera who died after a crash in the opening stage of the Giro della Valle d'Aosta. "I think this stage can go for (be a tribute for) somehwhere - and to all his family because it was really sad. The first thing I read in the morning and yeah, it was just... I was thinking in the last kilometre about him and yeah, how tough this sport can be - and how much pain it can cause." Thanks for listening. This is SBS News in Easy English.
SBS Australia
a day ago
- Politics
- SBS Australia
PM says China trip has been successful
TRANSCRIPT The Prime Minister wraps up his trip in China Australia's highest civilian honour handed to the family of late Gumatj clan leader Galarrwuy Yunupingu Tadej Pogacar regains the overall lead of the Tour de France Anthony Albanese says his six-day tour of China has been successful, resulting in outcomes that will boost the bilateral relationship. The prime minister is ending his trip in the regional city of Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province, before he flies out of the country to return to Australia. Mr Albanese says it has been a productive trip, including the meeting with China's President Xi Jinping. "One of the theme of our discussions was improving people-to-people and cultural links between people in Australia and China. And I can think of no better way then through the sporting engagement at what is the iconic sporting event in Australia - our Australian Open. Indeed the last Australian prime minister to visit Sichuan was Bob Hawke in 1986. And that time he launched an annual Australia-China tennis challenge. A gesture of goodwill between our nations." Russia says it won't accept the 50-day deadline announced by US President Donald Trump to reach a ceasefire to end fighting in Ukraine - or face sanctions. Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova condemned the move, calling it blackmail. The US also promised more missiles and other weaponry for Ukraine. Russia's all-out war against Ukraine in February, 2022, has led to Europe's bloodiest conflict since World War Two, with the United States estimating that 1.2 million people have been injured or killed. Doctors at the Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza City say two women have died - and several others are injured, following a strike that hit a Catholic parish in the Gaza Strip. The strike damaged the Holy Family Church, the only Catholic Church inside the Palestinian enclave. The Israeli Defence Forces says it is looking into the matter. The Vatican has not yet responded to a request for comment. The late Yolngu Elder and land rights pioneer, Dr Galarrwuy Yunupingu, has been officially awarded the nation's highest civilian honour, two years after his death. The Companion of the Order of Australia was accepted by his eldest daughter, Binmila, from Governor-General Sam Mostyn, who travelled to northeast Arnhem Land to present the award - in accordance with the wishes of the Yunupingu family. Ms Mostyn says Dr Yunupingu would have viewed the award in his own way. "But I am also aware that in the 50th year of the Australian honours and awards system, this may be an award that Dr Yunupingu may not have really seen as necessary. Or seen as adding to the way he lived his life. In a way it is an important thing that we are doing in acknowledging his life through a system that must sit alongside something else that Dr Yunupingu said in his essay. He spoke of an allegiance to each other, to land and to ceremonies that define Yolngu." The award was announced earlier this year, recognising Dr Yunupingu's eminent service to First Nation Peoples, in particular traditional land ownership, to leadership in economic development initiatives, to fostering reconciliation and respect, and his role as a custodian of culture and ceremony. Binmila Yunupingu says her father's legacy is something that will burn on forever. In cycling, Tadej Pogacar has regained the overall lead of the Tour de France, after winning stage 12. On the first major mountain of the race, the three-time Tour winner went clear early on the 13.5-kilometre ascent - going on to win the stage by two minutes 10 seconds from Jonas Vingegaard. Pogacar dedicated the stage win to 19-year-old Italian cyclist Samuele Privitera who died after a crash in the opening stage of the Giro della Valle d'Aosta in Italy on Wednesday. "I think this stage can go for (be a tribute for) somehwhere - and to all his family because it was really sad. The first thing I read in the morning and yeah, it was just... I was thinking in the last kilometre about him and yeah, how tough this sport can be - and how much pain it can cause." In a statement, Privitera's cycling team, Australian outfit Jayco AlUla, paid tribute to the 19-year-old, describing him as the life and personality of the team; and his loss is felt deeply.
SBS Australia
3 days ago
- Politics
- SBS Australia
China and Australia reaffirm trading ties
China and Australia reaffirm trading ties with a number of agreements Childcare centres under review as sex offence charges widen Wallabies brace for Lions chaos as Brisbane prepares for Test series opener Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Chinese Premier Li Qiang have signed several agreements in Beijing, under a new trade deal with China including one allowing Australian apples into China for the first time. Mr Albanese also met President Xi Jinping and Chairman Zhao Leji during his six-day visit, which focused on boosting trade and stability in the relationship. Premier Li says China and Australia have highly complementary economies and urged closer co-operation. Mr Albanese says the agreements represent both the strong cooperation between Australia and China and a shared ambition to do even more. "This round table is a symbol of cooperation, but it's also a sign of ambition, the cooperation that has delivered profound economic benefits for the people of both of our nations, and the ambition to build on those complementary strengths and go beyond them, to deepen and diversify our trade and business links." Childcare record-keeping is under fire as police link more centres to accused sex offender Joshua Dale Brown. More than 800 children are being urged to undergo infectious disease testing after authorities identified four additional Affinity Education-run centres where Brown previously worked. He faces over 70 charges involving eight children under two at a Point Cook centre between April 2022 and January 2023. The new sites include Kids Academy in Mickleham and Milestones Early Learning in Tarneit, Greensborough and Braybrook. Education Minister Jason Clare tells Channel 7 there must be a register tracking where educators have worked. "The company should have picked this up in the first place where this worker was. The Victorian Government and Authorities are doing everything they can to track the details of where he worked. But this highlights an example of why you need a database or a register so you know where all childcare workers are and where they're moved from centre to centre. That's just one of the things that we need to do Parliament starts again next week, I'll introduce legislation next week that will cut off funding to childcare centres that aren't up to scratch." Police have also updated Brown's employment dates at Papilio Early Learning in Essendon and removed Hoppers Crossing from the list. Bradley John Murdoch, the man who murdered British backpacker Peter Falconio in the Australian outback, has died of throat cancer aged 67. He was serving a life sentence without parole at Darwin Correctional Centre. Murdoch was convicted in 2005 of killing Mr Falconio and assaulting his girlfriend, Joanne Lees, near Barrow Creek in 2001. Ms Lees escaped and later gave key evidence, but Mr Falconio's body was never found. The case shocked both Australia and the UK. Murdoch maintained his innocence and lodged multiple failed appeals throughout the years. His death leaves the mystery of Mr Falconio's final resting place unsolved, for now. In a move to speed up housing construction, the New South Wales government has launched what it calls a pattern book of pre-approved home designs that could see new builds approved in just 10 days. The scheme offers eight low-rise designs - terraces, townhouses, and manor houses - normally worth $1000 each, but subsidised to just $1 per design for the first six months. Premier Chris Minns says the initiative aims to encourage homebuilding, particularly for young families, and promote fairness in the housing market. "I genuinely hope that we can encourage people to look at this as an option for their next home, or perhaps their first home. If you're a builder, if you're a homeowner, it can save you a lot of time and a lot of money. For too long, it's been way too hard to build in this state, and it's young families in particular who have paid the price. And that's not fair, particularly for those who are being locked out of the housing market." Urban planners have welcomed the initiative as a practical, design-led step toward easing Sydney's housing crisis, though they warn change will be gradual, not instant. In Rugby, The Wallabies are bracing for another fiery British and Irish Lions Test in Brisbane. A packed Suncorp Stadium will host Saturday's series opener, with thousands of travelling Lions fans expected to bring the noise and intensity. Brisbane clashes have a dramatic history, including the brutal 1989 Battle of Ballymore, described by Lions flanker Mike Teague as the most violent game of rugby ever played. The Wallabies are still recovering from a difficult couple of years and a World Cup group-stage exit in 2023.
