Prime Minister addresses calls to increase Australia's defence spending
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has answered questions on Australia's defence spending and the AUKUS agreement.
'I think that Australia should decide what we spend on Australia's defence,' Mr Albanese said at the National Press Club of Australia conference.
'It's as simple as that.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
West Australian
an hour ago
- West Australian
'Partial tick': coalition cautious on PM's summit idea
The federal opposition has given the government a partial tick over its upcoming productivity summit, saying that at least Labor recognises there is a problem. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced the plan on Tuesday, saying the gathering of business, union and other leaders in Canberra in August would focus on ways to lift economic output. "A round table. Yay!" shadow treasurer Ted O'Brien joked during an interview on Nine's Today program on Wednesday. "But look ... to be fair, at least they're recognising the problem ... so let's take that as a partial tick." Experts are concerned about Australia's lagging rate of productivity - a key economic measure of efficiency and long-term driver of improved living standards. Despite criticism that previous federal government economic summits were too slanted, Mr Albanese said this roundtable would be broad-based. He called for a mature discussion from all parties, noting it was in everyone's interest for productivity to improve. "We're a Labor government, we support unions existing ... but we will always respect both the role of business and the role of unions," he told the National Press Club on Tuesday. "There are common interests ... you don't get union members unless you've got successful employers. "It's the private sector that drives an economy. What the public sector should do is facilitate private sector activity and private sector investment." The Productivity Commissioner's most recent report showed labour productivity fell 0.1 per cent in the December quarter and dropped 1.2 per cent in the past year. The Business Council of Australia says productivity growth over the past decade has been the lowest in 60 years. Council chief executive Bran Black welcomed the roundtable, saying "lifting business investment is essential to boosting productivity, lifting real wages, creating jobs and ensuring more opportunity for more Australians". "We will continue to be very clear about policies that the business community believes will be counterproductive to improving productivity," he said. Mr Albanese said he wanted a boost to productivity, alongside other economic indicators as part of his second-term agenda. "We want to build an economy where growth, wages and productivity rise together," he said. ACTU secretary Sally McManus said working Australians must be at the centre of the roundtable. "We need to leave behind the idea that productivity is equated with cutting pay and making people work harder for less," she said. Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief executive Andrew McKellar said boosting productivity was essential for economic growth. "The business community looks forward to participating in the summit and contributing constructive and sensible ideas to address the problem," he said. Meanwhile, the World Bank has slashed its global growth forecast for 2025 by four-tenths of a percentage point to 2.3 per cent. The downgrade was driven by higher US tariffs on foreign imports and heightened uncertainty posed a "significant headwind" for nearly all economies. The World Bank is the latest body to cut its growth forecast as a result of President Donald Trump's erratic trade policies. But it stopped short of forecasting a recession, despite predicting global economic growth this year would be the weakest outside of a recession since 2008. with Reuters
Perth Now
an hour ago
- Perth Now
'Partial tick': coalition cautious on PM's summit idea
The federal opposition has given the government a partial tick over its upcoming productivity summit, saying that at least Labor recognises there is a problem. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced the plan on Tuesday, saying the gathering of business, union and other leaders in Canberra in August would focus on ways to lift economic output. "A round table. Yay!" shadow treasurer Ted O'Brien joked during an interview on Nine's Today program on Wednesday. "But look ... to be fair, at least they're recognising the problem ... so let's take that as a partial tick." Experts are concerned about Australia's lagging rate of productivity - a key economic measure of efficiency and long-term driver of improved living standards. Despite criticism that previous federal government economic summits were too slanted, Mr Albanese said this roundtable would be broad-based. He called for a mature discussion from all parties, noting it was in everyone's interest for productivity to improve. "We're a Labor government, we support unions existing ... but we will always respect both the role of business and the role of unions," he told the National Press Club on Tuesday. "There are common interests ... you don't get union members unless you've got successful employers. "It's the private sector that drives an economy. What the public sector should do is facilitate private sector activity and private sector investment." The Productivity Commissioner's most recent report showed labour productivity fell 0.1 per cent in the December quarter and dropped 1.2 per cent in the past year. The Business Council of Australia says productivity growth over the past decade has been the lowest in 60 years. Council chief executive Bran Black welcomed the roundtable, saying "lifting business investment is essential to boosting productivity, lifting real wages, creating jobs and ensuring more opportunity for more Australians". "We will continue to be very clear about policies that the business community believes will be counterproductive to improving productivity," he said. Mr Albanese said he wanted a boost to productivity, alongside other economic indicators as part of his second-term agenda. "We want to build an economy where growth, wages and productivity rise together," he said. ACTU secretary Sally McManus said working Australians must be at the centre of the roundtable. "We need to leave behind the idea that productivity is equated with cutting pay and making people work harder for less," she said. Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief executive Andrew McKellar said boosting productivity was essential for economic growth. "The business community looks forward to participating in the summit and contributing constructive and sensible ideas to address the problem," he said. Meanwhile, the World Bank has slashed its global growth forecast for 2025 by four-tenths of a percentage point to 2.3 per cent. The downgrade was driven by higher US tariffs on foreign imports and heightened uncertainty posed a "significant headwind" for nearly all economies. The World Bank is the latest body to cut its growth forecast as a result of President Donald Trump's erratic trade policies. But it stopped short of forecasting a recession, despite predicting global economic growth this year would be the weakest outside of a recession since 2008. with Reuters
The Age
2 hours ago
- The Age
Brisbane news live: Millions of dollars unaccounted for in Queensland
Latest posts Hundreds of millions of dollars unaccounted for in Queensland By Almost a billion dollars in Queensland taxpayers' money could be unaccounted for. Advance Queensland offers grants to businesses developing products, with more than $800 million dished out since 2015. But according to Nine News, the LNP government says it is struggling to find records of where the money has gone, and whether the recipients were appropriate. A request has been made to the Auditor-General to investigate, says Nine's political editor, Tim Arvier. 7.11am Brrr-ing out the winter woolies, Brrr-isbane Can it still be considered a cold snap, half a week in and with no change well into next week? That's what Brisbanites are facing again today, after another overnight minimum under 10 degrees. Today is expected to be another sunny one, with a clear sky until sundown, when the temperature is forecast to plunge to an even chillier night than last night. 7.09am While you were sleeping Here's what's making news further afield this morning: Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has thrown open the doors to a more daring economic reform agenda, convening a summit later this year to kickstart Australia's stuttering economy. After more than 500 episodes and 17 seasons, the ABC has decided to pull the plug on its long-running current affairs show Q+A, sources say. Super accounts have long been an attractive target for fraudsters, and on Tuesday, the regulator warned there are key gaps in some super funds' defences against cyberattacks. Screen time among Australian primary school children has ballooned to 6½ hours a day, with one in 10 students using their smartphone at problematic levels. On her sixth day on the witness stand, accused killer Erin Patterson has been quizzed about how much beef Wellington she ate, the plates she served it on, the leftovers in her bin, and her claims of feeling unwell. Several people have been killed at a school in the Austrian city of Graz, and several others seriously injured, including students and teachers, authorities said. Black rats commonly found in roofs across Australia are developing a genetic mutation that increases their resistance to rat poisons. 6.47am The top stories this morning Good morning, welcome to Brisbane Times' live news coverage for Wednesday, June 11. Today we can expect a sunny day and a top temperature of just 19 degrees. In this morning's local headlines: Some child protection workers are each managing up to 18 Queensland children on average, but the union says the number is actually far higher. Three Brisbane bridges are getting a technicolour makeover as part of this year's Brisbane Festival, which promises a highly visible citywide event akin to 'a cultural Olympiad'. Almost 20-year-old New Farm bakery Chouquette is no more after the owners announced its closure. But there's still hope that it could live on elsewhere. A man made a gun at work using nuts, bolts and a pipe, before he was fatally shot in Ipswich during a stand-off with police, a coroner has been told. The Brisbane Broncos appear set to adopt a new look, with an administrative move hinting at its first design shift in a quarter of a century.
