TRUMP AFFIRMS AUKUS LINKS; BUDGET LIFT
Presidential support for AUKUS defence links
US President Donald Trump has affirmed his support for the AUKUS partnership, citing increased defence co-operation between the US and Australia. The White House said the US was strengthening the trilateral security partnership to meet the “challenges of tomorrow”. A White House fact sheet issued after the President’s meeting with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese noted that since February, Australia had contributed US$1 billion (A$1.5 billion) to the US government to expand and modernise the US submarine industrial base, with another US$1 billion due by the end of the year. The White House said Australia was “investing significantly” in its integrated air and missile defence capabilities, including US$2 billion (A$3 billion) in US companies, for its Joint Air Battle Management System. In addition, the White House said the US-Australia alliance was securing munitions supply-chain resilience under Australia’s Guided Weapons and Explosive Ordnance (GWEO) enterprise, with streamlined export cooperation directly supporting more than 200 manufacturing suppliers in Texas, Florida, Arkansas and Alabama.
Defence spending at 2.8 per cent of GDP, says Conroy
Meanwhile, Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy says Australia’s level of defence spending is greater than that of western European nations or the Indo-Pacific partners of the United States. Mr Conroy said Australia was spending 2.8 per cent of gross domestic product on defence, and increasing, based on North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) measurement. This level of spending, he said, was ahead of every European or NATO nation, apart from Poland and the Baltic States (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania).
Farrell says tariff removal not part of US critical minerals deal
Trade Minister Don Farrell has brushed off suggestions that Australia should have secured a removal of US tariffs on Australian goods as part of the deal to provide greater US access to critical minerals and rare earths. Senator Farrell said Australia had not given up its fight to remove the imposition of a 10 per cent tariff on Australian goods exports to the US. The Minister told a radio interview that the “warm relationship” between the US and Australian leaders provided a base for ongoing discussions to remove tariffs. Senator Farrell said he would continue to argue that the tariffs were counterproductive for the US, and the application of tariffs was wrong within the two nations’ current bilateral free trade agreement.
Higher tax revenue lowers Federal budget deficit
Australia’s budget position for the first quarter of 2025-26 is more than $5 billion ahead of official Budget projections, according to latest financial statements. The statements released by Finance Minister Katy Gallagher show an underlying cash deficit of $21.5 billion for the three months to September 30, against the Budget projection of a $26.8 billion deficit. Receipts of almost $170 billion were $5.7 billion higher than the May Budget forecast, with taxation revenue up by $2.8 billion on projections. But Federal Government payments were almost $191 billion, slightly ahead of first quarter projections. Budget papers from the March Budget estimated a $42 billion deficit for 2025-26.
Attorney-General mulls over updated copyright laws under AI
Attorney-General Michelle Rowland says the Federal Government is consulting over possible updates to Australia’s copyright laws, amid the increased use of artificial intelligence (AI). Ms Rowland said amended laws would not include a broad exception for text and data mining in copyright law, as proposed by some in the technology sector. The Attorney-General said that under such a proposal, AI developers would be able to use the works of Australian creators for free and without permission to train AI systems. She said that by ruling out a text and data mining exception, the Government was providing certainty to Australian creators.