NATIONAL SKILL FOCUS; JAPAN DEFENCE PUSH
National Cabinet targets skills, disaster funding
National Cabinet has met for the first time under the Albanese Labor Government, pledging to urgently tackle skills shortages by expediting visa processing and addressing disaster recovery funding. The meeting of the PM and first ministers agreed to work on a more consistent, streamlined and equitable approach to disaster recovery funding arrangements. A committee chaired by Treasurer Jim Chalmers will also advise National Cabinet on emerging fiscal pressures in the wider areas of joint funding responsibility. National Cabinet will meet four times a year or as necessary, and will meet again before the Federal Budget in late October.
Marles seeks to bolster Japan defence co-operation
Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Richard Marles has wound up his first bilateral visit to Japan, promising more co-operation in the areas of technology sharing and infrastructure development in the Pacific Islands. Mr Marles met with his Japanese counterpart, Nubou Kishi. The Japanese visit followed a trilateral meeting between the two defence ministers and US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, which flagged enhanced training exercises through the Japan-Australia Reciprocal Access Agreement.
Labor to legislate emissions target
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen have committed to legislate Labor’s policy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 43 per cent, below 2005 levels, by 2030. When Parliament resumes in late July, the Government plans to enshrine the targets by law, which it says will provide certainty for industry and investors. Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has so far declined to back either the legislative route or the 43 per cent target. If the Government wants to avoid a Senate trade-off with The Greens, it will need to negotiate its legislation with the Coalition.
Senate count concludes
With new senators about to take up their seats on July 1, final counting by the Australian Electoral Commission confirms that Labor will need the support of The Greens and one other member to pass contested legislation. Labor will have 26 senators in the new chamber, with the Coalition dropping a net three seats to 32. The Greens, with 12 members, will hold a crucial bloc of votes. One Nation will retain its two seats, while Independent David Pocock displaced the Liberals in the ACT and Jacqui Lambie added a senator in her home state of Tasmania. Meanwhile in Victoria, the United Australia Party has secured the final seat, edging out the Liberals.
International travel on the way back
More than two years after the onset of Covid-19, international travel in and out of Australia is finally recovering, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. In April, almost 574,000 people arrived in Australia, with more than 600,000 departures. New Zealand was the largest source country of short-term visitor arrivals, followed by the United Kingdom, India, Singapore and the United States. Pre-Covid, monthly arrivals and departures in and out of Australia each topped two million a month.
National jobless rate stays below four per cent
Australia’s unemployment rate remained at 3.9 per cent seasonally-adjusted in May, as the nation confronted rising inflation and economic uncertainty. The Australian Bureau of Statistics said underemployment, which measured the rate of people who want to work more hours, fell to 5.7 per cent. But the rate of unemployment varied widely across the country, ranging from 3.1 per cent in Western Australia to 4.6 per cent in South Australia.