Commission Suggests Bringing More Industries Under Emissions Cap to Fast-Track Net Zero
That recommendation forms part of the Productivity Commission's interim report into how Australia can improve its pursuit of net zero.
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Tom's Guide
4 hours ago
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NBN Co is ditching Sky Muster for Amazon's LEO satellites, promising to bring 'city-fast' broadband to rural and remote Australians
There's less than six weeks to go until the major NBN speed boosts are heading our way, but NBN Co has let us in on a new secret they've been keeping — and it's a good one. Announced yesterday (5 August 2025), NBN Co has partnered up with Amazon's Project Kuiper to deliver 'city-fast' broadband speeds to rural and regional communities nationwide. Project Kuiper is Amazon's low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite arm, which is set to debut its first commercial services in the US later this year. According to the announcement, Amazon's LEO satellite network is scheduled to launch in Australia in mid-2026, with Tasmania set to be the first area to gain access. To coincide with the launch of the new tech, NBN Co has confirmed the eventual phasing out of its existing Sky Muster and Sky Muster Plus satellites. These existing satellites are expected to remain viable and operational until 2032. The current Sky Muster geostationary satellites service around 300,000 broadband connections across regional, rural and remote communities in Australia. The new agreement will see these connections, and new ones, transition from Sky Muster to Kuiper's LEO network in the coming years. NBN Co CEO Ellie Sweeney stated that the partnership will be a "major leap forward" for Australian satellite-internet customers. Sweeney noted that this partnership would bring lower latency and faster broadband speeds than those currently experienced on Sky Muster tech. "Australians deserve to have access to fast, effective broadband regardless of whether they live in a major city, on the outskirts of a country town or miles from their nearest neighbour," Sweeney said. "By upgrading to next-generation LEO satellite broadband powered by Project Kuiper, we are working to bring the best available technology to Aussies in the bush." Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips. In order to achieve its goals, Project Kuiper will deploy thousands of LEO satellites, connected by high-speed optical links that will ultimately create a "mesh network in space". This web will be linked to a global network of antennas, fibre and internet connection points on Earth. Globally, the Kuiper network will include more than 3,200 satellites. Amazon has already deployed 78 satellites into space over three launches this year.
UPI
13 hours ago
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Mitsubishi Heavy to build new Australian naval fleet
Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries will build Mogami-class frigates, like the one pictured here, for Australia's naval fleet. File Photo by Keizo Mori/UPI | License Photo Aug. 5 (UPI) -- The Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Group announced Tuesday that the Australian government has chosen it to build a new fleet of warships for the nation's navy. The Japanese shipbuilder said in a press release that Australia selected the upgraded version of Mitsubishi's 4,800-ton type Mogami-class frigate for its new general-purpose frigates. "We believe that the decision made by the Australian government is based on its evaluation of our frigate's proven performance, reliability, technology, and capabilities, multi-functionality suitable for various roles including anti-submarine, anti-aircraft, and anti-surface warfare, as well as reduced manpower requirements compared to conventional frigates, and scalability to easily enhance capabilities in the future," Mitsubishi said. The first three frigates are slated to be built in Japan, under a contract worth more than $6.4 billion, but the rest of the 11-vessel order is expected to be constructed in Australia. Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Richard Marles said during a press conference that the Mogami-class frigate was chosen due to its stealth capabilities and can operate with nearly half the crew currently aboard the Australian Navy's Anzac-class frigates, which have been in use since the end of World War II. "It's all part of our $55 billion investment in the Navy's surface combatant fleet," Australian Defense Industry Minister Pat Conroy posted to X Tuesday. "And it means tens of thousands of well-paid, highly skilled jobs here at home." "It's a decision months ahead of schedule, and a decision that means our first frigate will be delivered in 2029," Conroy also posted.
CNBC
14 hours ago
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Australia's internet network signs Amazon satellite service
Australia's state-owned internet network hired Amazon's untested startup satellite service to link people who cannot access its terrestrial network, rather than tech entrepreneur Elon Musk's Starlink. The deal, whose financial terms were not disclosed, is set to provide high-speed internet access to some 300,000 homes and businesses that NBN's terrestrial network does not reach. From next year, low-Earth orbit satellites owned by Amazon's Project Kuiper will start replacing two Australian government-owned satellites due for decommissioning in 2032, NBN and Amazon said in a joint statement on Tuesday. "It is true that Amazon Kuiper has not launched services yet in Australia or globally, but they are reportedly pumping in about $15 billion into that program," said Gavin Williams, NBN's chief development officer for regional and remote services. "We have every confidence that we've got a partner in Kuiper that will do what they say they're going to do," he added in an interview. NBN said its decision followed a rigorous procurement process, but did not say why it had chosen the Amazon service over Starlink. The deal represents a missed opportunity for Starlink, by far the world's biggest provider of such network services, which already has more than 250,000 customers in Australia, industry data shows. The decision was probably influenced by the need to limit sovereign risk arising from giving control of essential Australian infrastructure to a company aligned with "a very unpredictable America", said telecoms analyst Paul Budde. "I am sure total dependence on Starlink would not be seen as a favorable situation," Budde, an industry veteran who has advised the United Nations on broadband policy, added in an email. If U.S. President Donald Trump was not happy with something he could use both Starlink and Kuiper for political purposes, which was a worrying factor, Budde said. Starlink was not immediately available for comment. Australia's two biggest telecoms providers sell Starlink residential connection dishes and some government bodies, including the Australian Electoral Commission, also have contracts with it. A unit of Musk's SpaceX rocket company, Starlink now has 8,000 fast-orbiting satellites since it began launching them in 2019, while Amazon's service has just 78 since its first launch in April. NBN and Amazon said Project Kuiper would ultimately have more than 3,200. The low-Earth orbit satellites will connect to each other by optical links and communicate with antennas and other points on the ground. NBN's Williams added that the supply of critical infrastructure entailed regulatory and legal obligations, with technical, operational, and commercial considerations factored into the procurement process.
