Australian news

That partnership will include further military, policing and cyber security co-operation; Vanuatu's foreign minister says the country has no security agreement ...

"Australia has an ethical interest in that; we have a regional interest in that as a member of the Pacific family." Following high-level talks on Monday, Vanuatu described Australia as a "core" security partner. - Vanuatu describes Australia as a "core" security partner

The agreement was signed as Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong visited the island nation in the wake of a severe ransomware attack in November. The attack ...

He said the agreement covered the contingency of “a gap” in the kinds of security that Australia can provide: “When it comes to security issues in the region, we will call on them [the Australians] first.” The two countries have historically had strong diplomatic ties. The attack left the Pacific island’s government in disarray; internal systems were [not allow a Chinese military base in the country](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jul/14/solomon-islands-pm-rules-out-chinese-military-base-china-australia-security-partner-manasseh-sogavare). [reported](https://www.smh.com.au/world/oceania/australia-called-in-to-help-after-hackers-shut-down-vanuatu-government-systems-20221114-p5by7a.html) that officials from the Australian Cybersecurity Centre assisted Vanuatu’s government in rebuilding the systems following the attack. [announced](https://www.foreignminister.gov.au/minister/penny-wong/media-release/vanuatu-and-australia-sign-bilateral-security-agreement).

Australia signed a security deal on Tuesday with the Pacific islands nation of Vanuatu, it said in a statement, amid concern over China's military ambitions ...

Attorneys general give in-principle support to changes including new innocent dissemination defence for intermediaries.

[said in a communiqué](https://ministers.ag.gov.au/media-centre/standing-council-attorneys-general-communique-09-12-2022). They would provide some relief to media companies in Australia, some of which responded by dedicating more resources for comment moderation on social media, or simply shut off their comments on some posts. “The new innocent dissemination defence will be available to a person – other than an author, originator or poster of the matter – who provides or administers the online service by means of which the matter is published,” Speakman told Guardian Australia. [held liable](https://www.theguardian.com/media/2021/sep/08/high-court-rules-australian-media-companies-are-liable-for-defamatory-comments-posted-on-their-facebook-pages) for allegedly defamatory comments posted to their Facebook pages. [mistreatment in the Northern Territory’s](https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/apr/20/nt-royal-commission-dylan-voller-questioned-over-extreme-behaviour) Don Dale youth detention centre led to a royal commission, sued some of Australia’s biggest media groups including the Sydney Morning Herald, the Australian and Sky News over posts made by the public on their Facebook pages. [reforms to modernise](https://ministers.ag.gov.au/media-centre/standing-council-attorneys-general-communique-09-12-2022) the nation’s defamation laws relating to search engines and social media platforms.

The AIFFP's impact on development, poverty alleviation and climate adaptation in the Pacific needs further investigation, says Luke Fletcher.

In a constrained budget environment, will Australia’s decision to deliver climate finance through the AIFFP leave enough aid money to support the kinds of local adaptation that Pacific countries have asked for? Both Fiji and PNG are expected to see a [reduction in government spending](https://www.eurodad.org/debt_in_sids) over the period 2019-25. [announced a Pacific Climate Infrastructure Financing Partnership](https://www.aiffp.gov.au/news/october-budget-2022-23-unlocking-opportunities-and-boosting-connectivity-through-quality-climate-resilient-infrastructure). With more than $2 billion in loans still to be committed, and a small pool of countries in the region eligible to receive loans, the AIFFP will need to find more loan-worthy projects – most likely in PNG and Fiji, the region’s two largest economies. Added to this is the fact that AIFFP’s interest rates are less concessional than other lenders such as the Asian Development Bank – a concern highlighted in the system-wide review. Finally, can the AIFFP deliver on the Pacific region’s climate adaptation needs? AIFFP has funded two undersea cable projects (connecting to Palau and Timor-Leste), with a third in the works in East Micronesia, and it is clear that Australia is not keen to have its undersea cables network compromised via potential Huawei involvement in Pacific nodes. Another key question – and one that was not asked in the recent system-wide review – is whether a mixed loan and grant program like the AIFFP is suitable in a region already facing significant debt challenges. Or will it exacerbate the resource curse, or be used as a political tool to counter Chinese influence in the Pacific? Is the AIFFP the right vehicle for providing development aid to the Pacific? The vast majority of AIFFP’s funds – $868 million – has gone to transport sector projects, with the remainder going to projects focused on energy, communications and flood alleviation. It found that the AIFFP office is operating efficiently and effectively, has high-quality staff who have developed strong relationships with Pacific partners, and high-quality environmental and social safeguards systems.

COVID, climate change and China will be the main subjects of discussion this week when a senior Australian delegation visits Vanuatu, the Federated States ...

Earlier this year, China signed a wide-ranging security pact with the Solomon Islands. China failed to persuade other Pacific Island nations to sign a broader regional accord, but Australia and its allies believe China maintains its security and trade ambitions in the Pacific. On Tuesday it signed a Bilateral Security Agreement with Canberra.

The pact, signed in Vanuatu's capital Port Vila, covers an extensive range of areas for cooperation, from disaster relief to policing, defense and cyber ...

Chinese police have become a visible presence in the Solomon Islands capital Honiara since the security pact was signed. Australia last month gifted high-powered rifles to the Solomon Islands police. Australia is the largest aid donor to Vanuatu. alliance in the Pacific. “We have not established any security agreement [with China]. Private Chinese investment in Vanuatu has also flourished.

It is importing 5,000 tonnes of phosphate rock from the newly commissioned Ardmore Mine in Queensland, Australia. Mike Whitty, Ravensdown general manager ...

“As a Co-operative, it’s our job to identify and manage those risks on behalf of our farmer and grower shareholders. “We’re operating in an ongoing environment of instability when it comes to managing supply chain risks and increasing costs. Ravensdown will continue to investigate and trial other sources of phosphate rock closer to New Zealand as part of our ongoing effort to manage quality, surety and cost risks for New Zealand farmers and growers.

Jotham Napat, Vanuatu Foreign Minister: Senator Honourable Penny Wong, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Australia; Honourable Pat Conroy, Minis.

You speak with a special weight and authenticity and authority on climate because the people of the Pacific live it and have been living it for a long time, so why we want to co‑host it is because we think that elevating the voices of the Pacific Island nations is a very powerful statement and gives powerful momentum to the UN process. It has to win for the worker, it has to win for their family, it has to be a win for the country sending them, and it has to be a win for Australia by filling the labour shortages. Let me tell you momentum matters, so that's why we want to host the conference of the parties because we believe that conference, with the voices of Ni‑Vanuatu and all the peoples of the Pacific gives momentum when momentum is needed. We are seeking to make a very big change, and we are seeking in the space of less than a decade to go to in excess of 80 per cent of renewable energy in our economy. Australia has an ethical interest in that and we have a regional interest in that as a member of the Pacific family, so I think the Foreign Minister was very generous and thanked us for support, but I made the point to him that this is a partnership and we benefit as well because we benefit from a stronger region. It's critical to the Pacific economy and, ultimately, it is critical to lifting out of poverty tens of thousands of Pacific Islanders and their families. We made it less likely to be – want to make it less likely to be exploited and make more safeguards, and there's the broader issues of how you manage issues with family and culture that you just described. I acknowledge the work the new Government is providing to build on to extend and enhance that and welcome their initiatives and policies. It's the single biggest threat, so when we come here as Australians we come here recognising that that is a truth with which this country and its people and the region in which it resides has been dealing with for a very, very long time. Our relationship with Vanuatu is one of mutual respect, and I emphasised that with the Foreign Minister. As I said to the Foreign Minister, the fact of a high‑level bipartisan delegation is a statement – it is a statement about the enduring nature of our partnership with Pacific Island nations. Penny Wong, Foreign Minister: Thank you very much, Foreign Minister Napat and thank you for taking the time to speak with us and talk through a number of the issues you've raised.

The telecommunications giant said in a release to the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) on Wednesday that a preliminary analysis by cybersecurity firm ...

Weir travelled from Ballarat to his Warrnambool facility on the morning of 30 October to train with McLean and Kermond. We need to know what impact warming oceans and ocean acidification will have on krill populations in the future. I think they’re talking about it increasing the price of wine and spirits, but frankly it’s just ridiculous. The Senate will be recalled tomorrow afternoon to vote on the legislation. That’s the ultimate objective, high-level recycling, not low-level, one-off contaminated material. Firefighters are working to extinguish the fire, however you should not expect a firefighter at your door. We welcome the government’s focus on these issues. Meanwhile, the foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, has urged China to navigate differences with Australia “wisely”. or there are local political factors stifling movement, then one or two states should act unilaterally. A slow-moving fire is travelling on Butterfly Road towards Mary Road. Chris Bowen has confirmed Labor’s energy bill will be passed tomorrow with support from the Greens, Jacqui Lambie and David Pocock. Helping people make this switch helps remove risk from gas market prices.

Analysis shows that the aid contracting market is becoming increasingly dominated by a small group of Australian companies, says Huiyuan Liu.

And second, the Australian aid contracting market is becoming increasingly dominated by a small group of firms. From 2011-12 to 2021-22, the market share of the top three suppliers increased by 12%, the top five by 14% and the top ten by 9%. First, a remarkably high share of Australian aid contracts goes to Australian-registered companies. Two of them had portfolio values from all their active contracts in excess of $1 billion in 2021-22, well above the rest of the suppliers, with Abt almost hitting the $2 billion threshold. [provided to the Pacific Islands and Southeast Asia](https://devpolicy.org/aidtracker/destinations/), where Australian companies have a lot of experience. Although there is churn among the smaller suppliers, over the past decade, four of the top five suppliers have maintained their leading positions in the aid contracting market. Concentration of the contracting market has also occurred through mergers and acquisitions. This is larger than the official figure of aid flows to commercial suppliers (21% in 2020-21) due to differences in calculation methods, as the latter is calculated by adding up total value of new contracts awarded in the year and extensions of past contracts. [Australian government set the target](https://www.dfat.gov.au/sites/default/files/framework-making-performance-count.pdf) of reducing the number of individual investments by 20% by 2016-17 in an effort to reduce fragmentation, cut administrative costs, and improve the operating efficiency of the aid program. It reached a low point in 2012-13, when Cowater International from Canada and Research Triangle Institute from the US received 33% of the total value of contracts awarded. In 2020-21, the estimated annual procurement value (adjusting for the fact that nearly half of the contracts are multi-year) was $1.37 billion, or about 30% of Australia’s aid budget. A significant amount of Australian aid is delivered by private sector contractors.