Australia news LIVE: European leaders to join Zelensky in Trump meeting; Productivity boss calls for war on bureaucracy
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6.44am
Melania Trump's vague letter to Putin
By Michael Koziol
The text of Melania Trump's letter to Vladimir Putin has been revealed, showing the First Lady implored the Russian president to protect innocent children, but did not explicitly raise the plight of thousands of abducted Ukrainian minors.
US President Donald Trump hand-delivered his wife's letter to Putin as they met in Alaska on the weekend for a historic summit that was intended to progress an end to the war in Ukraine, which began in 2022 when Russia launched its full-scale invasion.
In that time, Russia has been accused of forcibly transferring – or kidnapping – thousands of Ukrainian children from families and orphanages in occupied regions of Ukraine and sending them to Russia and Belarus.
Ukraine has called the abductions a war crime that rises to the United Nations definition of genocide, and also alleges stolen children are being conscripted into the Russian army when they turn 18. Previously Moscow has said it has been protecting vulnerable children from a war zone.
6.41am
Trump fuels concerns about ceding Ukraine land
By David Crowe
European leaders will meet Donald Trump at the White House on Monday in a show of unity with Ukraine in the troubled talks to end the war with Russia, after the US President sent another strong signal that Ukraine should cede territory to secure the peace.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will be joined by at least six other European leaders in the high-stakes talks in the hope of persuading Trump to wield sanctions and other penalties against Russia to enforce a peace deal on better terms for Ukraine.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has rejected a ceasefire and wants a peace agreement that cements Moscow's control of large stretches of eastern and southern Ukraine.
Zelensky has rejected giving up territory and declared in Brussels on Sunday that his country's constitution did not allow him to do so, but he also signalled that the current front line should be the starting point for a negotiation.
6.37am
What's making news today
By Daniel Lo Surdo
Hello and welcome to the national news blog. My name is Daniel Lo Surdo, and I'll be helming our live coverage this morning.
Here's what is making news today:
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will be joined by at least six other European leaders when he meets US President Donald Trump at the White House later on Monday, after Trump held expansive talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the war with Ukraine. Putin has called for a peace agreement that cements Moscow's control of large stretches of Ukraine, while Zelensky has dismissed giving up territory but signalled the current front line should be the starting point for negotiations.
Productivity Commission boss Danielle Wood has called for a war on red tape and bureaucracy ahead of the federal government's three-day economic roundtable this week, describing an avalanche of laws over recent years as 'regulatory hairballs' that have held back living standards. Wood will use a speech on Monday to argue that politicians have sought to over-regulate the country at the expense of economic growth and opportunities for Australians.
A Federal Court hearing on Monday will decide what penalty Qantas should pay for the illegal sacking of 1800 workers during the COVID-19 pandemic, following the court verdict in December. The Transport Workers Union seeks the maximum penalty of $121 million, while Qantas is seeking something in the range of $40 million to $80 million. The penalty will be in addition to the $120 million Qantas has agreed to pay in compensation to the illegally fired workers.
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SBS Australia
26 minutes ago
- SBS Australia
What is the economic reform roundtable and what will it achieve?
Around 30 leaders from business, unions and civil society will convene in Canberra on Tuesday for three days of discussion and debate about the country's economic future. The summit, first announced in June, is a key part of the government's strategy to build national consensus around economic reform. Treasurer Jim Chalmers has said that the ideas discussed at the roundtable will inform "the next three budgets and beyond". A number of topical and controversial ideas for reform are on the table, including major tax reform, deregulating artificial intelligence and a four-day work week. So what can we expect from the roundtable, and what might it achieve? Treasurer Jim Chalmers speaks to the media ahead of his three-day economic reform roundtable. Source: AAP / Mick Tsikas What is the point of the roundtable? When Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced the summit in June, he said the aim was to "build the broadest possible base of support for further economic reform". It addresses a need for long-term economic reform, in particular to improve Australia's sluggish productivity — a key determinant of our standard of living. After the RBA's announcement, Chalmers told reporters that "productivity is the most serious economic challenge that we have in our economy". Who will be there? The roundtable is organised around three main themes: - Productivity (Wednesday) - Budget sustainability and tax reform (Thursday) On the invitation list is a diverse assembly of around 30 leaders from the business community, the union movement and civil society who will attend alongside economists, policy experts and heads of key government agencies. Some of the sectors represented at the roundtable include banking, universities, mining and superannuation. RBA governor Michele Bullock will deliver a presentation at the three-day economic roundtable. Source: AAP / Dan Himbrechts Presentations will be delivered by RBA governor Michele Bullock, Productivity Commission chair Danielle Wood and Grattan Institute CEO Dr Aruna Sathanapally among others. The government says a further 900 submissions from experts, industry leaders and individuals will also inform the outcome of the roundtable. What are some of the big ideas up for discussion? Housing is a high priority on the government's agenda, with leaked documents seen by the ABC suggesting the government may be considering deregulation to boost housing supply. These changes could include pausing the National Construction Code and reforming the Environment Protection and Biodiversity (EPBC) Act in order to speed up development approvals. Artificial Intelligence is also proving to be a hot topic, with the Productivity Commission leading calls to reduce regulation of AI to boost productivity. This has been met with resistance from unions and creative bodies who are calling for greater protection of workers and intellectual property against the risks of AI. Multiple proposals for tax reform can be expected . Independent MP Kate Chaney is calling for an increase to the Goods and Services Tax (GST) to 15 per cent, combined with an annual offset payment of $3,300 to individuals. Meanwhile, the Productivity Commission is arguing for a lowered corporate income tax rate for small and medium-sized businesses, which it says will boost investment. What are the concerns with it? The leaked Treasury advice published by the ABC last week raised concerns that the outcomes of the economic roundtable may have been determined before the roundtable began. This led Opposition treasury spokesperson Ted O'Brien, who is attending the roundtable, to warn the summit had been "engineered to rubberstamp" Labor policy and could become a "privileged talkfest". In response, Albanese told reporters that they were "awaiting the forum, and ideas will then come through normal government processes. That's how good policy happens". Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has defended the purpose of the economic roundtable, arguing that its role is to generate ideas that will inform economic policy. Source: AAP / Dean Lewins A spokesperson for Chalmers said the government is not "pre-empting ideas" but "preparing for them as you would expect". Nonetheless, the government has already confirmed it won't be implementing all the ideas brought forward to the roundtable. What we won't see Chalmers has already poured cold water on the ACTU's bid for a four-day work week. Last week, he told The Conversation "it's not something we've been kind of working up or considering". Instead, Finance Minister Katy Gallagher has signalled a focus on working from home. Albanese also downplayed the prospect of major tax reform when speaking to reporters last Thursday. "The only tax policy we're implementing is the one we took to the election." Outside Parliament House on Monday morning, Chalmers said that while the roundtable presents a number of challenges, he is optimistic about Australia's appetite for economic reform. "I am realistic but optimistic that we can make progress together. I don't believe we will solve every challenge in our economy in three days. This is about three days to inform the next three budgets and beyond and I am really looking forward to that."
ABC News
39 minutes ago
- ABC News
Donald Trump handed Vladimir Putin multiple wins in Alaska
The bizarre summit between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin in Alaska should sway all but the most credulous doubters that the White House is more interested in friendly relations with Russia's dictator than achieving a lasting peace in Ukraine. An abridged program saw the two leaders swiftly conclude the meeting earlier than had been expected. They then heaped praise on one another at a press conference that didn't feature any questions from the press. Worryingly, Trump is still as unconcerned about handing Putin symbolic victories as he is unwilling to put any real pressure on the Russian leader. The venue itself was telling. Russia has long carped that Alaska, which it sold to the US in the 1860s, is rightfully still its territory. Prior to the meeting, Kremlin mouthpieces made much of Putin's team taking a "domestic flight" to Anchorage, recalling billboards that went up in Russia in 2022 proclaiming "Alaska is ours!" That wasn't helped by yet another Trump gaffe prior to the meeting when he said he would "go back to the United States" if he didn't like what he heard. When Putin's plane landed, US military personnel kneeled to fix a red carpet for the Russian president to walk across — as a respected leader, rather than an indicted war criminal. Putin was then invited to ride along with Trump in his limousine. Beyond the optics, Trump handed Putin a number of other wins that will shore up his support at home and reinforce to the world that US-Russia relations have been normalised. A summit is typically offered as a favour — an indication of an earnest desire to improve relations. By inviting him to Alaska, Trump gave Putin a stage to meet the American president as an equal. There was no criticism of Russia's appalling human rights abuses, its increasingly violent attempts to fragment the transatlantic alliance, or its desire to reshape its fortunes by conquest. Instead, Trump sought again to portray Putin and himself as victims. He complained that both had been forced to "put up with the 'Russia, Russia, Russia' hoax" that Moscow had interfered in the 2016 US presidential election. He then gifted Putin yet another win, putting the onus for accepting Russian terms to end the war in Ukraine back onto the Ukrainian government and Europe, by observing "it's ultimately up to them". Putin got exactly what he could have hoped for. Aside from the photo ops, he framed any solution to the conflict around the "root causes" — code for NATO being to blame rather than Putin's unprovoked war of imperial aggression. He also dodged any prospect of vaguely threatened US sanctions, with Trump returning to his familiar refrain of needing "two weeks" to think about them again. And then, having pocketed both a symbolic and diplomatic bonanza, Putin promptly skipped lunch and flew home, presumably also accompanied by the bald-headed American eagle ornament that Trump had presented to him. After Trump's subsequent call with European leaders to brief them on the summit, details about a peace proposal began to leak out. Putin is reportedly prepared to fix the front lines as they stand in the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions of Ukraine, provided Kyiv agrees to cede all of Luhansk and Donetsk, including territory Russia doesn't currently hold. There would be no immediate ceasefire (which is Europe's and Ukraine's preference), but a move towards a permanent peace, which aligns with the Kremlin's interests. Make no mistake: this is a thinly disguised trap. It amounts to little more than Putin and Trump slinging a dead cat at Ukraine and Europe, then blaming them as laggards and warmongers when they object. For one thing, Ukraine still controls a sizeable portion of Donetsk. Giving up Donetsk and Luhansk would not only cede coal and mineral reserves to Moscow, but also require abandoning vital defensive positions that Russian forces have been unable to crack for years. It would also position Russia to launch potential future incursions, opening the way to Dnipro to the west and Kharkiv to the north. Trump's apparent backing for Russia's demands that Ukraine cede territory for peace — which NATO's European members reject — means Putin is succeeding in further fracturing the transatlantic partnership. There was also little mention of who would secure the peace, or how Ukraine can be reassured Putin will not simply use the breathing space to rearm and try again. Given the Kremlin has opposed NATO membership for Ukraine, would it really agree to European forces securing the new line of control? Or American ones? Would Ukraine be permitted to rearm, and to what extent? And, even in the event of a firmer US line in a future post-Trump era, Putin will still have achieved a land grab that would be impossible to undo. That, in turn, reinforces the message that conquest pays off. One apparently brighter note for Ukraine is the hint the US is prepared to offer it a "non-NATO" security guarantee. But that should also be viewed with caution. The Trump administration has already expressed public ambivalence about US commitments to defend Europe via NATO's Article 5, which has called its credibility as an ally into question. Would the US really fight for Ukraine if there were a future Russian invasion? To their credit, European leaders have responded firmly to Trump's dealings with Putin. They have welcomed the attempt to resolve the conflict, but told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky they will continue to back him if the deal is unacceptable. Zelensky, who is due to meet Trump in Washington on Monday, has already rejected the notion of ceding the Donbas region (Donetsk and Luhansk) to Russia. But Europe will have to face the reality that not only must it do more, but it must also provide sustained leadership on security issues, rather than just reacting to repeated crises. Ultimately, the Alaska summit shows that peace in Ukraine is only part of the broader picture for the Trump administration, which is dedicated to achieving warmer ties with Moscow, if not outright alignment with it. In that sense, it matters little to Trump how peace is attained in Ukraine, or how long it lasts. What's important is he receives credit for it, if not the Nobel Peace Prize he craves. And while Trump's vision of splitting Russia away from China is a fantasy, it is nonetheless one he has decided to entertain. That, in turn, compels America's European partners to respond accordingly. Already there is plenty of evidence that having failed to win a trade war with China, the Trump administration is now choosing to feast on America's allies instead. We see this in its fixation with tariffs, its bizarre desire to punish India and Japan, and the trashing of America's soft power. Even more sobering, Trump's diplomatic forays continue to see him treated as sport by authoritarian leaders. That, in turn, provides a broader lesson for America's friends and partners: their future security may well rest on America's good offices, but it is foolish to assume that automatically places their fortunes above the whims of the powerful. Matthew Sussex is an associate professor at the Griffith Asia Institute and a fellow at the Strategic and Defence Studies Centre at the Australian National University. This piece first appeared on The Conversation.
AU Financial Review
39 minutes ago
- AU Financial Review
Vic work-from-home laws work against growth, says PC boss
Plans by the Victorian government to introduce laws entitling people to work from home at least two days a week have been panned by Productivity Commission chair Danielle Wood as bad for economic growth. While the government has defended the right of the Victorian government to implement the measure, Wood, who will be one of the headline acts at this week's economic roundtable, said it contravened her key message about governments strangling growth and productivity with needless rules and regulation.
