ASIO WARNS ON ‘A-TEAM’ SPIES; ALP POLL WIN

Australians missing warning signs on security, says ASIO chief

Australia’s head of security and intelligence has warned that the nation is the priority target of a particular team – the so-called ‘A-team’ - in a particular foreign intelligence service. Delivering the ASIO Annual Threat Assessment, Director-General of Security Mike Burgess said the A-team was aggressive and experienced, trawling professional networking sites looking for Australians with access to privileged information. Mr Burgess said too many Australians were missing the warning signs and making the A-team’s job too easy. He said that on just one professional networking site, there were 14,000 Australians publicly boasting holding a security clearance or working in the intelligence community. Some individuals in important defence projects had even used networking sites to identify their team, their project and critical technologies they used. Mr Burgess said that several years ago, the A-team successfully cultivated and recruited a former Australian politician.

Labor retains seat in Dunkley by-election

Federal Labor has comfortably retained the south-eastern Melbourne seat of Dunkley in a by-election to replace the late MP Peta Murphy, who died in December. While the Liberals’ Nathan Conroy achieved a swing of around 3.5 per cent in early counting, it was not enough to overcome Labor’s 2022 election buffer of 6.2 per cent. Labor has held the beachside seat since the 2019 election, after 23 years in Liberal hands; its new MP in Dunkley will be Jodie Belyea.

Annual inflation trending down

Australia’s inflation rate is continuing its downward trend, with the monthly Consumer Price Index indicator registering annual inflation of 3.4 per cent in the 12 months to January. Latest figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics show that a price decline in some food categories and in holiday travel and accommodation had contributed to the falling inflation rate. Insurance and financial services, however, registered an 8.2 per cent annual increase, while energy price rises were restrained, mostly due to the effect of government-funded electricity bill rebates.

Repeat federal budget surplus on the cards

Sustained higher tax revenues are putting the Federal Government on track for a second successive budget surplus, according to latest figures from the Department of Finance. Monthly statements released by Finance Minister Katy Gallagher show that the underlying cash deficit to the end of January had narrowed again, to $22.4 billion, down from the $23.2 billion forecast in the government’s mid-year economic and fiscal outlook. Expenses remained below forecast, while company tax and indirect tax receipts were ahead of projections. The December MYEFO statement forecast a budget deficit of just $1.1 billion, well down from the $12.8 billion deficit forecast in the May 2023 Budget.

Seven national priorities to guide defence industry

The Albanese Government has released its Defence Industry Development Strategy, with updated priority areas for a sovereign defence industrial base. Responding to the 2023 Defence Strategic Review, the government has outlined seven detailed Sovereign Defence Industrial Priorities (SDIPs) to accompany military objectives. They include the maintenance, repair, overhaul and upgrade of ADF aircraft, as well as continuous naval shipbuilding and sustainment, and the sustainment and enhancement of the combined arms-land system. A fourth priority focuses on domestic manufacture of guided weapons, explosive ordnance and munitions, with a fifth on the development and integration of autonomous systems. The final two priorities relate to the integration and enhancement of battlespace awareness and management systems, and on test and evaluation, certification and systems assurance. Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy said the domestic defence industry supported more than 100,000 Australian jobs.

Renewables cutting emissions and prices, says Bowen

Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen says the growth of renewable energy helped cut electricity emissions by almost five per cent in the September quarter of 2023, compared to the same period in 2022. Releasing the latest quarterly update on Australia’s national greenhouse gas inventory, Mr Bowen said the increasing share of renewables contributed to a 71 per cent decrease in wholesale electricity prices over the same period. The Minister said Australia’s greenhouse emissions were now 25.4 per cent below the levels of June 2005, the base year for the nation’s targets (43 per cent reduction by 2030) under the Paris Agreement. Despite the overall cut in emissions, Mr Bowen said transport emissions were up by 4.5 per cent and agriculture emissions up by 2.5 per cent over the 12-month period to September.