Commercial
Today
Commercial real estate
KKR's infrastructure whisperer looks to reawaken property arm
The lines between the two asset classes are blurring, even though property has underperformed infrastructure in recent years.
May 11, 2025
Allison McNeely
Agriculture
US investor puts $85m grape operation up for grabs
Australia's table grape industry is worth almost $1 billion annually. More than half the annual crop is typically earmarked for export to Asia-Pacific markets.
May 11, 2025
Nick Lenaghan
This Month
Exclusive
Commercial real estate
Roosters add Paddington apartments to $100m property portfolio
The Roosters are 'future-proofing' their finances, heavily reliant on gaming revenue, with an expanding real estate portfolio.
May 9, 2025
Sarah Petty
Exclusive
Property development
Castle Group buys Sydney site for $120m, plans to build 550 homes
The group's plans to push ahead with the site reflect the fact that low-density housing is more viable to develop than apartments in the current market.
May 8, 2025
Michael Bleby
Opinion
Build-to-rent
Poll result bumps off build-to-rent critics
Labor's decisive election win has injected new confidence into build-to-rent by removing two of the sector's leading opponents from federal parliament.
May 7, 2025
Robert Harley
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
ABC News
13 hours ago
- ABC News
Coalition sticks to defence spending pledge but won't say how it'll pay for it
The Coalition remains committed to lifting defence spending to 3 per cent of GDP but won't detail where the money will come from, as the shadow finance minister suggested the opposition would be open to considering broader tax reform. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is expected to meet with Donald Trump on the sidelines of G7 summit next week, amid pressure from the United States to increase defence spending from the current level of 2.04 per cent to to 3.5. Trade Minister Don Farrell on Sunday said the government was committed to a "significant uplift in the amount of defence spending". "We're focused on what Australia needs to do and we'll make our decisions based on what's in our national interest," he told Sky News. The Coalition went to the election promising to earmark an additional $21 billion for the military between now and 2030, almost double what Labor had pledged. Appearing on Insiders on Sunday, Shadow Finance Minister James Paterson said the Coalition's target of 3 per cent of GDP in a decade had not changed since the party's devastating election loss last month. "The exact profiling of that increase is something that we'll determine through the policy process and closer to the next election. We'll be completely up front and transparent about that," he said. "But yes, we have an objective of reaching the 3 per cent of GDP because we think it is in our national interest." Senator Paterson said the Coalition had three years to outline where that additional funding would go, but listed some potential areas for investment as recruitment and retention, a munitions stockpile, northern military bases, air and missile defence and drones. "There is no shortage of good things we could spend on that would increase our ability to defend ourselves and safeguard our sovereignty," he said. But he would not be drawn on where the money to pay for the increase would come from, saying that work would occur over the coming years. Senator Paterson did suggest the opposition was open to a discussion about the way superannuation is taxed, despite its rejection of the government's plan to double the tax on super balances above $3 million from 15 to 30 per cent. "We're happy to contemplate tax reform. We're happy to talk to the government about tax reform. But we are not interested in increasing taxes, because I don't think that that is what the Australian economy needs right now," he said. "If the government was genuinely serious about a broad-based tax reform process, then we'd be up for that conversation. Now, the government has to take the first steps there." US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth asked Defence Minister Richard Marles to increase spending to 3.5 per cent of GDP "as soon as possible" on the sidelines of a dialogue in Singapore this week, according to a statement from the US Department of Defense. Mr Hegseth had previously made similar requests, but it was the first time the administration nominated an exact figure. Negotiations with the United States over Mr Trump's 10 per cent tariffs on Australian exports continue, with the subject likely to dominate the anticipated meeting between Mr Albanese and Mr Trump. Access to Australia's critical minerals has been put forward as a potential bargaining chip as Australia continues to push for an exemption. The Coalition had previously said they would oppose Labor's plan to acquire stockpiles of critical minerals from commercial projects, to be held in a national reserve and made available to domestic industry and international partners. But Senator Paterson told Insiders it "might be necessary" for the government to support the mining and processing of critical minerals. "We're very happy to see what the government is proposing here. I can't commit to it in principle without having seen the details, but we're certainly open to it," Senator Paterson said. "Any sensible steps that represent an economic opportunity for Australia and an opportunity for us to demonstrate that we are a good alliance partner of the United States is something that we would offer bipartisan support to." Mr Farrell said Australia had offered the United States "an expanded arrangement in regards to critical minerals" as part of efforts to secure an exemption from the tariffs, which came into force in April. The trade minister met with his American counterpart, trade representative Jamieson Greer, in Paris last week, where he said he made clear that Australia wanted "all of the tariffs removed, not just some of them". "The position I put to Jamieson Greer is that the tariffs the United States has imposed on Australia are unjustified."
SBS Australia
18 hours ago
- SBS Australia
Ships of death: This notorious industry is about to change, but is it greenwashing?
Bangadesh's ship-breaking industry is notoriously hazardous and dangerous. A new international treaty that comes into force in June aims to clean it up. But critics say it's flawed and doesn't address the key issues. Source: SBS / Louis Dai Watch Dateline's latest episode about Bangladesh's ship-breaking industry on 10 June at 9.30pm AEST on SBS or SBS On Demand. Ship cutter Delwar Hossain's job might be killing him but he's worried he'll lose it. If his scrapyard doesn't turn "green" by the end of June, he won't have ships to cut, or money to feed his wife and two young children. And the notoriously polluted Bangladeshi beach where he works will soon lose most of its end-of-life cargo ships being cut apart in the mud. Over 90 per cent of Chittagong's beach scrapyards will be rendered idle when an international treaty comes into legal force on 26 June. After this date, Bangladesh's government won't allow end-of-life ships to be imported by scrapyards that are not compliant with the Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships. They will have to obtain a "green" certificate or face closure. The president of the Bangladesh Ship Breakers and Recyclers Association (BSBRA), Mohammed Zahirul Islam, estimates 80 per cent of the workforce will lose their jobs as a result. "We have more than 50,000 people working directly in this industry, and so after June this year, maybe 10,00 will be employed and the other 40,000 workers will be out of work,' he says. He says only seven out of their 114 member scrapyards are currently compliant. He expects that number to rise to 20 yards by the end of the year, but other industry watchers say the figure will be more like 10. And the industry's critics would like the number to be zero. Chittagong, also known as Chattogram, is Bangladesh's second largest city and the world's leading ship breaker by steel tonnage. Last year, almost 40 per cent of the world's scrapped vessels met their end on the city's muddy beachline, according to BSBRA figures. It's also a notoriously polluting and dangerous industry. Workers like Delwar cut gigantic cargo ships apart with handheld oxytorches so metal and parts can be scrapped, reused or recycled. Apart from the risk of injury and death from falls or falling steel, workers are exposed to toxic dust, smoke and chemicals, often working barefoot and without protective masks. In the last five years of records, there were at least 38 deaths and 177 injuries in Bangladeshi shipbreaking yards, according to IndustriALL Union Group, an international trade union. Delwar has previously injured his back, and his cough suggests that more damage is taking a toll. "When we're cutting, smoke fills the air and over time it causes respiratory issues and infections," he says. For this gruelling work, he makes 600 taka ($7.70) per shift — not enough, he says, and less than other jobs. "Honestly, I don't enjoy it. But I need to take care of my family so I don't have a choice." Numerous critics say there is no safe or clean way to break ships on a beach in Bangladesh, nor would such a practice be allowed in a developed country. They also say the Hong Kong convention is flawed and doesn't address key issues that have long plagued the industry: labour rights, pollution, and the skirting of an existing treaty that prevents wealthy countries and companies from sending hazardous ships to Bangladesh. The NGO Shipbreaking Platform (NSP), a global coalition of organisations fighting harmful shipbreaking practices, said in a 2023 statement that the Hong Kong convention would "only serve the interests of shipping companies" and lacks the same level of regulation of the Basel Convention, an international treaty that bans toxic waste disposal in developing countries. When an old ship is ready for scrapping, it is automatically classed as hazardous waste under the Basel Convention. The NSP says shipping companies often circumvent the restrictions of the Basel Convention by obscuring the country of the ship's origin through intermediary 'cash buyers' and 'flags of convenience'. It says a cash buyer is a middleman company that buys a ship and then registers it with a PO Box shell company in a tax haven. Additionally, the law of the sea places a ship's responsibility with the ship's flag state, so cash buyers use flags from countries with lax maritime law enforcement standards. In this way, a shipping company from a country such as Australia, Greece or China can sell a ship to a cash buyer who, in turn, sells the ship for scrapping in Bangladesh. The beach breaking yards in Bangladesh, India and Pakistan are popular destinations because they're known to pay about five times more money for ships than highly regulated European yards. Bareesh Chowdhury, policy and campaigns coordinator at the Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association (BELA), a member of the NGO coalition, says, '[The Hong Kong Convention] doesn't address the problem of flags of convenience or the cash buyers. "These gaps are what's going to make this treaty ineffective as a result." He says the Basel Convention, to which Australia is a signatory, encourages industrialised countries to manage their own hazardous waste, whereas he says the Hong Kong Convention places the responsibility for toxic waste on the vessel's flag state and the recycling state, not its country of origin. "Instead of urging developed countries or urging ship owning countries to take responsibility for the waste that they are generating, it has passed that responsibility onto the importing state and the final disposal state, which are often countries that do not have the means for that kind of disposal," he says. Chowdhury says ocean-going vessels are riddled with toxins such as asbestos, heavy metals, oils, and carcinogens. And it's not just the scrapyard workers lacking proper safety equipment who are at risk of exposure. Contaminated spills pollute ocean waters and soil, and items made of toxic materials find their way into ordinary homes, posing serious health risks to local communities. "Bangladesh struggles with municipal waste management, let alone toxic waste that requires specialised facilities and care," he said. Bangladesh has a population of 140 million people and the largest ship-breaking industry in the world, but is without a single hazardous waste disposal facility. Zahirul says Bangladesh is trying to set up an appropriate hazardous waste facility with help from overseas aid but it's a few years off. The PHP ship-breaking yard Zahirul manages is part of one of the country's largest conglomerates and claims to be the first green ship recycling facility in Bangladesh to be compliant with the Hong Kong Convention. He says they've implemented changes to minimise the impact on the environment and workers, including concrete flooring, cranes, personal safety equipment and waste containment. He concedes that asbestos waste from ships can't be disposed of in the country, so it's entombed in concrete and kept on site. He bristles against the idea that ships cannot be safely scrapped on a beach. But he agrees that the onus on cleaning up the industry should not just be shouldered by Bangladesh. "A ship is built in the developed world, and they make profit from it for 30 years," he said. "And we get it for only six months, and all the blame comes on us." Watch now Share this with family and friends
News.com.au
a day ago
- News.com.au
What's driving China's hunger for Aussie beef as exports soar
Grain-fed beef exports to China have ballooned more than 40 per cent this year – and it's not only because of the Asian superpower's trade war with the US. Australia has broken records in the beef export industry so far in 2025, up 15 per cent year-on-year, to reach more than 567,000 tonnes by May. Among the biggest movers has been grain-fed exports to Greater China – which includes Taiwan and Hong Kong – rising 41 per cent to 57,000 tonnes alone. Overall beef exports to Greater China are up 30 per cent this year, rising to 117,000 tonnes in the latest data. These figures reveal how Australian beef exporters have been a big winner of Beijing and Washington's ongoing trade war sparked by Donald Trump's tariff regime. Meat & Livestock Australia general manager of markets Andrew Cox explained the uptick in trade to China had also coincided with a repairing of the political relationship between the two countries in recent years. China only lifted the last of its unofficial trade sanctions on Australian products like meat, wine and barley in December last year, which stemmed from tensions between Beijing and the previous federal government. 'And then of course, more recently, there's been some increased demand because our key competitor in that premium space in China, the US, has been effectively shut-out due to the trade relationship between China and the US.' China previously imported AU$2.5 billion worth of American meat but those products have virtually disappeared from supermarket shelves since Mr Trump's 'Liberation Day' as both countries hit each other with tariffs above 100 per cent. The growing middle class China's growing middle class and rising incomes have seen beef become a more popular source of protein – particularly premium cuts like wagyu – than it was historically. A snapshot collated by Meat & Livestock Australia shows 74 per cent of affluent Chinese consumers believe Australian beef is 'the most delicious', while it also scored highly for freshness and safety. Mr Cox, who has been in the industry for 20 years, said he remembered when Chinese trade figures were a 'rounding error' on the export database. 'Now they're the world's biggest beef importer and it's got more runway to grow,' he said. 'We've seen urbanisation, an emerging and growing middle class numbering in the hundreds of millions. And they have a demand for quality and safe protein.' Tammi Jonas, a farmer and spokeswoman for the Australian Food Sovereignty Alliance, predicted China to hoover up Aussie beef after the tariffs were announced in April. 'China has just turned immediately and said, 'Yep, that looks great. We'll have more Australian beef',' she told this week. Ms Jonas, however, has also warned of the potential for beef prices in Australian grocery stores to go up as exporters send more stock overseas. 'China buys a full range of everything from cheaper cuts to the more expensive ones,' she said. 'They have a rapidly growing middle class, so they demand more of the premium beef than historically they did. 'And Japan is the same, they both like a lot of the premium cuts from here. 'So that's direct competition with premium cuts in Australian supermarkets.' Tariffs and US trade The US President, in his April 2 speech, singled out an unbalanced beef trade as justification for slapping a blanket 10 per cent tariff on all Australian-made products. 'They won't take any of our beef. They don't want it because they don't want it to affect their farmers and, you know, I don't blame them, but we're doing the same thing right now, starting at midnight tonight,' Mr Trump said. Despite this, US importers have taken in 167,000 tonnes of Australian beef in 2025 – with its 32 per cent growth outstripping that of China. Australia's meat exports to the US totalled around $4 billion in 2024, while America has been dealing with drought conditions that have squeezed domestic cattle supply. It was revealed on Friday that the Australian government was considering relaxing biosecurity laws to allow more American beef into the country as part of tariff negotiations. Beef from the US was banned in 2003 after the breakout of mad cow disease, and since 2019 there have been strict conditions for meat products to enter Australia. The move has seen some pushback from farmers, with National Farmers Federation president David Jochinke telling the Sydney Morning Herald that protecting biosecurity was paramount for the industry. 'Let's be abundantly clear, our biosecurity isn't a bargaining chip,' he said. 'We have the world's best standards, backed by science, and that's how it needs to stay.' Cattle Australia chief executive Chris Parker on Friday said US beef producers have had access to Australian markets since 2019, provided they could show animals were born raised and slaughtered in the US. 'Our position is that the US needs to be able to demonstrate it can either trace cattle born in Mexico and Canada, or has systems that are equivalent to Australia's traceability, before imports of meat could occur from non-US cattle,' Dr Parker said. 'Cattle Australia is in ongoing communication with the Federal Government regarding this issue and the vital importance that our science-based biosecurity system is not compromised as part of trade discussions with any country.' Domestic prices So far beef prices has remained steady for farmers, as demand from importers means strong paydays along the supply chain, Ms Jonas said. 'The big exporters (in Australia) are rubbing their hands and just filling that market rapidly,' she said. 'And the more that market opens up, the more pressure it puts on domestic pricing. 'So supermarket beef, like we like we said several months ago, supermarkets beef is definitely going to keep going up in price.' Mr Cox said predicting prices was like weather forecasting but added that Australia already exported 75 per cent of the beef produced here. 'For the Australian farmer to be sustainable for that cultural sector, we need customers all around the world,' he said. 'We produce more food than we eat domestically and we're highly reliant on export markets.'
