INDIAN DEFENCE, ENERGY BOOST; AI PRICE PUSH

India secures imports of Australian uranium

Australia has committed to the ongoing secure and reliable supply of energy to India, including coal, diesel, other liquid fuels, and natural gas. Hosting his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi in Melbourne, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said India would also now be able to import Australian uranium for peaceful purposes, under the countries’ 2015 bilateral nuclear cooperation agreement. Mr Albanese said India’s importation of Australian uranium would help it to increase the share of non-fossil fuel power capacity and provide an additional market for Australia’s resources sector. The PM said India was Australia’s fourth-largest source of refined petroleum, while Australia was a longstanding supplier of coal and liquefied natural gas to India.

Albanese, Modi sign up to greater defence cooperation

Meanwhile, Australia and India have committed to accelerate their level of defence cooperation, including through greater complexity of defence exercises, stronger interoperability between forces, and recruiting for skilled workforces. PMs Anthony Albanese and Narendra Modi signed a Joint Declaration on Defence and Security Cooperation. The declaration also commits both nations to expanding aircraft deployments from each other’s territories and to greater cooperation on maritime security. In addition, the nations have pledged to deepen collaboration on defence science and technology.

Households, data centre investment propping up inflation, says RBA

Higher household spending and investment in artificial intelligence have contributed to recent higher-than-expected inflation, according to the Reserve Bank of Australia. Presenting to an economic forum, RBA Assistant Governor Sarah Hunter said the local economy had proven to be more robust than the central bank had expected, with a pickup in household spending and higher business investment. Ms Hunter said the boom in AI investment and data centres in Australia and Asia had been spectacular and hard to track for statistical agencies. In addition, she said, the world economy and global trade had turned out to be much more resilient to the effects of tariffs introduced in the United States. Volatility and uncertainty arising out of the Middle East conflict also contributed to unpredictability, Ms Hunter said.

Trusts tax change out for public consultation

Treasurer Jim Chalmers has thrown open for consultation one of the Federal Government’s major tax reforms, the implementation of a minimum tax on discretionary trusts. In its 2026-27 Budget, the government announced that a minimum 30 per cent tax would apply on the taxable income of the trusts from July 2028. A Federal Treasury consultation paper claims that less than 15 per cent of all active small businesses operate through a discretionary trust structure; it says that more than 90 per cent of all active small businesses in any given year will not be affected by the change. Discretionary trusts allow lower tax rates to be achieved through ‘income splitting’, with distributions able to be allocated to beneficiaries on a lower marginal tax rate. The changes do not apply to fixed or testamentary trusts.

New joint military chief awake to AI risks

New ADF Chief of Joint Capabilities Glen Braz says the Australian Defence Force’s approach to artificial intelligence (AI) will be a defining feature of the force’s effectiveness in the new technological era. In his first remarks in his new post, Air Marshal Braz said Defence must be clear-eyed about the risks, while remaining open to harnessing AI where it absolutely made sense. He said Defence found itself in a state of constant activity within the cyber and space domains. Air Marshal Braz said that through a reformed acquisition system, Defence was delivering resilient and secure satellite systems, to keep teams connected and data flowing.

PNG defence treaty comes into force

Australia and Papua New Guinea have formally established a mutual defence treaty, the Pukpuk Treaty, which aims to lift cooperation between the defence forces of the two nations. Formalising the treaty in Brisbane, Prime Minister Albanese and PNG PM James Marape said it would advance the recruitment of PNG citizens into the Australian Defence Force. The treaty is PNG’s first alliance and Australia’s first alliance in more than 70 years. In addition, the two leaders agreed to advance the nations’ bilateral trade relationship, worth $10 billion in 2025.