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The Australian
an hour ago
- The Australian
Anthony Albanese set for one-day trip to New Zealand for talks with Christopher Luxon
Anthony Albanese is set to travel to New Zealand for a whirlwind annual leader's meeting with his counterpart Christopher Luxon, where the pair will discuss increased defence and security co-operation and leadership in the Pacific. The Prime Minister will depart on Saturday morning for a short international trip before returning on Sunday afternoon. While Mr Albanese is not expected to use the trip to share any major announcements, conversations with Mr Luxon will focus on strengthening defence and security co-operation, and economic ties, like the Single Economic Market policy which reduces business and economic regulations between the two countries. The leaders will also speak about issues in the Pacific and other international issues. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will meet with New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon in an overnight trip across the ditch. Picture: NewsWire / Nikki Short The Israel-Gaza war will likely be discussed following Israel's Security Council approving plans for a takeover of Gaza City, with Foreign Minister Penny Wong warning that the permanent forced displacement of Gazans would amount to a violation of international law. Like Australia, New Zealand also doesn't recognise Palestinian statehood, however it also supports a two-state solution and has called for Israel to increase the amount of humanitarian aid allowed into Gaza. Speaking more broadly about Australia's bond with New Zealand ahead of the trip, Mr Albanese said the relationship was 'unmatched'. 'I am delighted to visit New Zealand to meet with Prime Minister Luxon for our annual leaders' meeting,' he said. 'I look forward to discussing how we can work together to build on our Single Economic Market, modernise the rules-based trading system, deepen our alliance, and back our Pacific partners.' Read related topics: Anthony Albanese Jessica Wang NewsWire Federal Politics Reporter Jessica Wang is a federal politics reporter for NewsWire based in the Canberra Press Gallery. She previously covered NSW state politics for the Wire and has also worked at and Mamamia covering breaking news, entertainment, and lifestyle. @imjesswang_ Jessica Wang
The Australian
an hour ago
- The Australian
SA Greens push for mandatory work-from-home day amid fierce opposition
A second Australian state is set to push for workers to be able to work from home one day a week; however, the move has not come without its detractors. MLC Robert Simms announced on Thursday the South Australian Greens were drafting a Bill to guarantee public sector staff could work from home (WFH) one day a week if it was 'reasonable', saying it would 'set a benchmark for the private sector'. Robert Simms is calling for South Australia to guarantee public sector staff can WFH one day a week. Picture Dean Martin His call comes after Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan announced plans to legislate WFH protections for workers who could 'reasonably' carry out their duties from home. Ms Allan said the reform, which would make Victoria the first state to enshrine WFH legislation, was about recognising modern work patterns and protecting employees from having flexible arrangements arbitrarily revoked. 'It's working now, but we know that we need to protect it,' Ms Allan said on Today. 'We need to protect it for workers but also make it really clear for employers as well who are already doing this that working from home should be a right, not a request.' In SA, however, the move has been greeted largely with disapproval. Earlier this week, SA Premier Peter Malinauskas told ABC Radio that he would not support the proposed legislation. 'To mandate things, I think, runs the risk of having unintended consequences,' he said. 'And occasionally I think employers should have the ability to say, 'Look, we're paying you to do a particular task and this is where I need you to perform those tasks'.' Peter Malinauskas will not support WFH legislation. Picture Ben Clark Mr Simms claimed more staff working from home would negate travel time, cut traffic congestion and boost productivity, along with saving workers and families vital dollars. However, the SA Business Chamber has rejected the plan, saying legislation could drive a wedge between workers and hamper investment. Chamber chief executive Andrew Kay claimed current arrangements were working 'perfectly well where employers and employees negotiated WFH arrangements'. 'Enshrining WFH rights has the potential to drive a wedge in the workplace between the haves and the have nots,' he said. Legal experts revealed the Labor-Allan government's push to legislate WFH rights in the private sector were logistically almost impossible. Working from home has its benefits. Picture: iStock Stacks Law Firm special counsel Geoff Baldwin said a large number of workers in Victoria were already eligible to request flexible working arrangements, and any new legislation would be at risk of being 'struck down', as it would presumably be inconsistent with existing Commonwealth laws. 'It's hard to see what (the) Victorian (government) might do which would have any appreciable impact on the Victorian workforce as a whole,' he said. A SA government spokesperson added that 'the state government opposes any Peter Dutton-style attempts to ban working from home'. 'Working from home arrangements where practical are important in a modern workplace,' they said. 'These arrangements tend to work best where it is mutually agreed between employees and employers, which is why mandating such a practice through legislation is not being contemplated by the state government.' Read related topics: Greens
The Australian
an hour ago
- The Australian
Nuclear power: Expert reveals hidden cost of Australia's energy path
A leading British nuclear scientist has issued a warning to Australia that 'there are consequences' in rejecting nuclear energy as an energy source. Former chief scientific adviser to the UK Ministry of Defence Sir Robin Grimes said such a stance would likely put Australia in a weaker position to take advantage of the AI boom and invest in data centres. Sir Robin said the issue of nuclear energy was something Australia needed to 'debate', with the Coalition vowing to pursue it as part of its energy policy. 'Yes, you don't have to go nuclear, but there are consequences of deciding to use it and not use it,' he told NewsWire. 'It means that Australia will not be in as strong a position to do certain types of industrial processes. As a consequence, data centres, (AI and robotics) are much more difficult to have if you don't have that base-load capacity available to you.' A leading British nuclear scientist said there would be consequences if Australia chose to reject the use of nuclear energy in its grid. Picture: NewsWire/ Martin Ollman Sir Robin said while Australia was 'blessed with fantastic sunshine', nuclear should be considered as an alternative to costly batteries. In comparison, the UK generates about 15 per cent of its electricity from nuclear sources, with wind and gas also key players in its grid, accounting for 30 per cent of energy input. 'If you want energy security, and if you want a really robust system, then you're going to have to invest in phenomenal amounts of storage if you don't go nuclear,' Sir Robin said. 'Batteries don't generate energy. They're a tax on the energy that you're produced because you've having to store it … and the more energy you produce from intermittent renewables, the more storage you need and the greater the cost.' Australia's abundant supplies of uranium, which make up about 8 per cent of global production and are estimated to be about one-third of the world's uranium supply, could also be refined onshore, leading to new job markets, Sir Robin added. This could involve processing the uranium ore, refining it into yellowcake and converting it to uranium hexafluoride, steps that come before the compounds are enriched to create nuclear fuel. 'The question is, do you just dig the ore out the ground and shove it on a train and export it to somewhere that's going to do something with it, or do you go through some of the processes and retain more of the jobs associated with that in Australia,' Sir Robin said. Earlier this year, the Dutton-led Coalition took a nuclear policy to build seven reactors by 2050 to the federal election. Picture: NewsWire/ Martin Ollman Sir Robin's comments follow an Australia-first conference on nuclear energy hosted by the University of NSW in Sydney this week. The event featured talks from world-leading nuclear scientists, including Nuclear Energy Agency director-general William Magwood, US Department of Energy deputy assistant secretary Aleshia Duncan and Sir Robin. It follows the launch of Australia's first undergraduate honours degree in nuclear engineering, slated to start in 2026. UNSW's Nuclear Innovation Centre director Ed Obbard said he believed the nuclear debate would likely grow as Australia developed a domestic nuclear engineering workforce and through existing initiatives like the AUKUS submarine program and Sydney's OPAL reactor, which produces radioisotopes for medical imaging, cancer treatment and research. 'As the nuclear sector grows, both in Australia and worldwide, discussions on civilian nuclear energy will become increasingly realistic,' Dr Obbard said. 'Assuming that we still care about decarbonisation, nuclear is never going to go away.' However, Dr Obbard said Australia having a nuclear workforce was welcomed by both sides of politics. 'It doesn't matter whether you're Liberal and you think we need a workforce for a future nuclear workforce, or if you're Labor and you're desperate to find a workforce to show the Americans that we're doing OK with AUKUS,' he said. 'Or if you're a university where you have international students coming from around the world to study engineering at UNSW. 'You've got this tripling of capacity happening everywhere, and there's a huge nuclear skills shortage wherever you go, and everyone agrees on that.' The Coalition's energy spokesman Dan Tehan welcomed the conference and said 'having a conversation about zero emissions nuclear energy continues to be incredibly important for Australia and the world'. 'More and more countries are adopting nuclear energy as they seek energy abundance and to reduce their emissions, and this is something that should be on the agenda for discussion here in Australia,' he said. 'We've committed to the removal of the moratorium (on nuclear energy) and further policy is under review.' Jessica Wang NewsWire Federal Politics Reporter Jessica Wang is a federal politics reporter for NewsWire based in the Canberra Press Gallery. She previously covered NSW state politics for the Wire and has also worked at and Mamamia covering breaking news, entertainment, and lifestyle. @imjesswang_ Jessica Wang
