Latest news with #LaborGovernment
West Australian
5 hours ago
- Business
- West Australian
‘Hand it back': Albanese Government tells Fortescue to repay hydrogen grant for dumped Gladstone project
The Albanese Government is sticking out its hand to take back taxpayer funds poured into Fortescue's fading clean energy ambitions. The Andrew Forrest-controlled miner on Thursday revealed it would dump green hydrogen projects in Australia and the US as it struggles to find a commercial pathway to full-scale production of the clean fuel, which is produced by the electrolysis of water via renewable energy sources. In its quarterly update, Fortescue said its Arizona hydrogen project in the US and the PEM50 project in Queensland's Gladstone had been canned and an assessment was under way to re-purpose the assets and the land. The news has raised eyebrows in Canberra, and the Labor Government has signalled its intention to reclaim any taxpayer money that went towards development of the Queensland project. A spokeswoman for Industry and Innovation Minister Tim Ayres told The Australian that the Government believed it would be appropriate for Fortescue to hand back funds it received under the Modern Manufacturing Initiative. 'The decision not to proceed the PEM50 Hydrogen plant in Gladstone is a commercial matter for Fortescue,' the spokeswoman told the newspaper. 'However, if Fortescue does not proceed with the delivery of the MMI-funded Gladstone Electrolyser facility project it would be reasonable for the government to seek reimbursement for where the grant agreement hasn't been fulfilled.' Fortescue said it was in talks with the Federal and Queensland governments over the future use of the land. 'As these are confidential discussions, it would be inappropriate to disclose details,' a spokesman told The Australian. Fortescue expects to book a $US150m ($227m) writedown after binning the two projects. The West Australian in May revealed the $US150m Gladstone electrolyser manufacturing plant was in serious doubt after 90 workers were laid off across the site and Fortescue's Perth headquarters. Mark Hutchinson quit as Fortescue's green energy boss less than two weeks later. These job cuts were the latest leg of a huge cull across the company's sprawling green hydrogen team that started in July last year. Fortescue in February said the re-election of Donald Trump jeopardised its $US550 million green hydrogen project in the western US state of Arizona. It was earmarked for generous grants under the Biden administration but President Trump's team appear to have poured cold water on those taxpayer funding hopes.
Sky News AU
2 days ago
- Business
- Sky News AU
'More money in your pocket... not the government's': Major change to HECS could help millions of Aussies save $1300 per year
Millions of Australians struggling under the weight of rising living costs and mounting student debts will soon receive a much needed financial break, as the Albanese government rolls out sweeping changes to the HECS system. In a major policy move, the Labor Government proposed 20 percent cuts off all existing HECS student debts, a change that will help millions of Australians struggling to pay their student debts. This legislation was introduced by the Federal Minister for Education, Jason Clare and is considered to be the first bill introduced by the Albanese government before the start of Parliament's second term. "The average HELP debt today is about $27,600," Mr Clare said in his second reading speech. "When this legislation passes it will cut that debt by about $5,520." "If you have got a debt of $50,000 it will cut it by $10,000," he added. "All up it will cut student debt by over $16 billion." "This bill raises the minimum amount you have to earn before you have to start making repayments – from $54,435 in 2024-25 to $67,000 in 2025-26 and it reduces the minimum repayments you have to make." He continued to explain that for people earning $70,000 it will reduce the minimum repayments they have to make by $1,300 annually. The legislation targets HELP debt, VET loans and apprenticeship loans and is aimed for Australians earning between $60,000 and $180,000. These changes will also raise the minimum repayment threshold, meaning if you earn above the current minimum repayment threshold of $54,435, you will have to pay a percentage of your entire wage as a repayment. It is also known that young professionals and early-career workers, including nurses, teachers, and tradespeople, are expected to be the biggest winners from these changes. However, the universities accord final report described it as 'deeply unfair' as it punishes students who follow their passion and interest. Labor's latest reforms especially this one is seen as a vital initiative that provides immediate financial relief and long term stability to millions of Australians who have been trying to stay afloat in a tough economic conditions.
SBS Australia
3 days ago
- Politics
- SBS Australia
Rally over conflict in the Middle East marks federal parliament's return
"Stop bombing our children, stop bombing our hospitals, stop bombing our mosques, they're bombing our churches…" Hundreds of pro-Palestinian protesters rallied outside the new Parliament in Canberra, for the first sitting day of parliament since the May federal election. "It will be written in history books that the most kind, most generous, most dignified people were left to die alone, bombed, starved and buried beneath rubble." They are demanding more from the nation's leaders, urging the federal government to impose sanctions on Israel and push for a ceasefire in Gaza. "Where is Australia? How can shameful silence be anything but complicity? Where is Australia? Where is our so-called moral leadership? As families are incinerated by airstrikes funded by Western powers." Some members of parliament were present at the rally. Independent Senator Fatima Payman spoke to SBS World News, saying action speaks louder than words. "Time for words is over, we need actions and I hope that the majority Labor government that we currently see, they will sanction Israel, they will cut ties and they will walk the talk." She says this time three years ago she was one of the new senators being sworn in the parliament, remarking how drastically things have changed since. "It wasn't a difficult decision to choose between whether I want to be there as part of a ceremonial procession where people are patting themselves on the back for being elected when there's a genocide going on and protesters are outside. It's a shame that we don't have more politicians out here. If they claim to uphold human rights and dignity and justice for all they should be out here, not patting themselves on the back inside." Echoing a similar sentiment, Greens Senator Mehreen Faruqi spoke from inside the parliament. "The Albanese government must immediately intervene and organise an aid drop of food into Gaza. That is the bare minimum that they should be doing." In a joint statement, Australia and more than 20 other countries [[27/28]] including the United Kingdom, France and Canada are calling for an immediate ceasefire. The countries involved condemn the aid situation and humanitarian assistance provided to Palestinians. The majority of those killed recently were in the vicinity of Gaza Humanitarian Foundation [[GHF]] sites, backed by the U-S and Israel to take over aid distribution in Gaza from a network led by the United Nations. Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong spoke to Sky News on this. "I think that statement reflects distress that so many Australians feel about what they see in Gaza. They are concerned, distressed by the catastrophic humanitarian situation we are seeing. The US was not a signatory. But Minister Wong says US President Donald Trump has the greatest chance of any political leader of brokering a ceasefire. "We are clear in our condemnation of Hamas, we are clear in our condemnation of our ideology and their actions. We call for the release of hostages. We also say that civilians must be protected and aid must be delivered unimpeded." Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke told ABC News "the slaughter has to end". "We've seen too many images of children being killed, of horrific slaughter, of churches being bombed, the images that we have seen have been pretty clear that so much of this is indefensible." It comes as the Labor party questions how Israel is delivering aid. "With the shifts that have happened of how aid is being measured and the increasing sights of how aid is being managed into the area and also the increasing sight of how people are being killed on their way simply to get food and water." He says the hostages still need to be released but stressed the war needs to end. The Zionist Federation of Australia argues the war would have ended already if Hamas released all hostages and laid down its arms. Shadow Foreign Minister Michaelia Cash spoke to SBS World News. "Well I think the decision by the Albanese government to blame Israel for Hamas' disruption of aid into Gaza is incredibly disappointing. I think it's also disappointing that the Albanese government have yet again signed a statement attacking Israel." She notes Hamas has welcomed the signed statement. "I think what is disturbing is that Hamas - a listed terrorist organisation - have welcomed the signed statement by those countries including Australia." When asked if there is a moral obligation for Israel to ensure aid is flowing, she says aid should be getting to innocent civilians in Gaza, adding that there is also evidence aid has been diverted by Hamas. Hamas denies it has stopped aid deliveries. The United Nations and European Union say they have no evidence Hamas has been stealing aid. Sarah Schwartz, Executive Officer of the Jewish Council of Australia, says the signing of the joint statement is a positive move but it's time for sanctions needed to sever connections with Israel. "We're at the stage now, almost two years in, where there actually needs to be sanctions against the state of Israel and thinking about how we can disentangle our relationship from both the US and Israel who are engaged in committing these flagrant breaches of international law." For months now the government's been increasing its criticism of Israel over the deaths of civilians in Gaza. But this joint letter and the strength of today's comments from senior ministers signal a willingness to go further.
ABC News
3 days ago
- Sport
- ABC News
BTN Newsbreak 22/07/2025
BULLYING REPORT First up, to a report on bullying, which has been published by Kids Helpline. Bullying's always been a big problem here in Australia, but new data suggests the problem is getting worse. Stats show that more people are calling Kids Helpline to report bullying and distressing thoughts than at the peak of COVID lockdowns, and it's not the only data reflecting this trend. Experts aren't 100% sure why this is happening, but they say tech likely plays a big part, given more young people are being exposed to harsh content online, and it's easier to bully anonymously. It's why the Federal Government launched an Anti-Bullying Review earlier this year. The goal? Come up with a national standard to better respond to bullying in schools. PARLIAMENT SITS Today marked the first day of the 48th Parliament of Australia. It's been about 11 weeks since Anthony Albanese's Labor government won the election, and it was a chocka-block first day back. And all 150 members of the lower house were sworn in. Milton Dick was voted in unopposed as speaker of the house of representatives for a second term, and the Governor General gave speeches to both the senate and the lower house. CLIMATE CRICKET A new report has come out that looks at how climate change is impacting cricket. This report was commissioned to investigate crickets new 'ultimate test': rising temperatures. It looked at a bunch of cricket games, from international to local, alongside weather conditions, and found that extreme weather is a big threat to cricket. In fact, it found that more than half of the games during the 2025 IPL were played during conditions classed as Extreme Caution or Danger which just means any temperature over 32.3 degrees! As we know, conditions like this can be dangerous, and can lead to fatigue, sunstroke and heat exhaustion. This isn't the first time we've seen heat impact sports, particularly summer sports, and this report's far from being the only one on the matter. Even the Olympics last year developed a special action plan ahead of the Paris Games to minimise heat risks. The hope is that reports like this one can help us learn how to make sport safer by making recommendations and heat policy guidelines so that we can keep watching and playing the sports that we love. BEAR DRILLS First up, to Japan where police are conducting a series of bear drills to help people know what to do in the event of an attack, including using fireworks to scare them off. Recently, there have been a rise in wild bear attacks on humans over there, and sightings are up almost 3 times what they were this time last year. So, training couldn't come at a better time. BATTERY-CHANGING ROBOT Now to a robotics company in China, which claims to have made the first robot in the world capable of changing its own batteries without shutting down or needing any help from humans. Allowing it stay focused on what's really important: working, working and working. JANE AUSTEN CELEBRATION And finally to the UK, where dozens of people have dressed up in 19th-century attire and headed to the house where iconic novelist Jane Austen used to live 200 odd years ago. It's all to celebrate Austen's life and works.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Posts criticising Australian migration policy misuse decade-old picture
A photo of women in sky-blue burqas -- typically associated with the Taliban's strict dress code in Afghanistan -- has been edited and misleadingly featured in an article criticising Australia's immigration policy. Social media users believed the picture depicted "recent refugees" in Australia but it was shot in Afghanistan more than a decade ago, the photographer told AFP. "Half of all recent refugees in Australia are on welfare and 44% can't speak English," reads a headline emblazoned on an image of women in burqas published on Facebook by The Noticer -- an online news site that Australian-based ABC News says "promotes white supremacist ideologies" (archived link). The post has been shared over 2,500 times since its publication on July 4, 2025. It links to an article highlighting statistics the government released in late June about various types of permanent migrants who moved to Australia between 2012 and 2021. Among those surveyed are those classified as "humanitarian migrants", more commonly known as refugees and asylum seekers (archived link). According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, 44 percent of humanitarian migrants who were in the country for less than five years do not speak English very well, though the survey noted that proficiency "was higher for permanent migrants who had lived in Australia for longer". The image also spread on Facebook, X and Instagram by users criticising Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and his Labor government's migration policies. Some social media users appeared to think the women in burqas were in Australia. One commented: "Their country has a rule that women's heads must be fully covered at all times, and usually their bodies too. Why aren't they told that that rule does not apply here and the law states that your face and head must be fully visible when entering any businesses?" Another user said: "Just look around the shops or your neighbourhood, these in Islamic and Indian garments walking and enjoying the streets whilst you are on the way to work. Yes, we are carrying them so wake up!" But the photo has been cropped and shared in a misleading context. A reverse image search found a larger photo on the Flickr page for The Institute for Money, Technology & Financial Inclusion (IMTFI), which is part of University of California Irvine School of Social Sciences (archived here and here). That picture reveals more clues that the women were not in Australia, as it shows the faces of the people around them and their attire, as well as a red shelter being held up with wooden poles. The Peace Research Institute Oslo published the same photo credited to researcher Jan Chipchase (archived link). He told AFP that he took it "a long time ago" in Afghanistan, and confirmed IMTFI's Flickr page information, which dated it as being shot on August 22, 2010. "That would be correct. I did a project for the IMTFI at that point," he said in an email on July 11. Since their return to power in Afghanistan in 2021, the Taliban have imposed an ultra-strict vision of Islamic law, modelled on their previous rule from 1996 to 2001. Women are required to have their bodies and faces covered (archived link).
