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Albanese’s meeting with Xi makes English-language front pages in China
By Olivia Ireland
The historic meeting between Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Chinese President Xi Jinping has made the front page of the two major English language Chinese newspapers.
The Global Times and China Daily splashed over their front pages Australia’s visit to China, headlining “Xi meets Albanese, calling PM’s trip ‘opening future’” and “Xi stresses mutual understanding”.
The front page of Chinese newspaper, the Global Times, features the meeting between Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and President Xi Jinping.Credit: David Crowe
“Chinese analysts said that Albanese’s China visit has great significance to Australia, and they look forward to more wonderful interactions and visits between the two Asia-Pacific partners in the future,” the Global Times wrote.
Xi had also met with Cuban Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz, Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabić and South African Deputy President Paul Mashatile, which featured on China Daily’s front page, however, led with Australia’s meeting.
“President Xi Jinping stressed on Monday the need for China and Australia to build up mutual understanding and trust through peaceful coexistence and achieve common development through win-win cooperation during a meeting in Beijing with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese,” the China Daily wrote.
All Australians would like interest rates to stay static, Watt says
By Caroline Schelle
Murray Watt said he couldn’t predict what the Reserve Bank planned to do on interest rates when they meet today, but like his colleague Bill Shorten he would like them to stay static.
Earlier, Shorten was probed about rates and said: “I hope it stays static, I’ll be honest, I just know a lot of mortgage holders are doing it tough”.
The agriculture minister was asked if he agreed with those comments on ABC Radio National this morning.
“As a mortgage holder, I of course, would agree with that,” Watt said in response.
He said Australians were under increasing pressure when it comes to inflation and interest rates, but said it was pleasing the inflation level was moderating.
“Of course, I’m not going to predict what the independent Reserve Bank will do with interest rates,” Watt said.
But when pushed he said he wanted to see rates hold.
“I think all Australians would, especially those who have mortgages would prefer their mortgage rates to be static, but we’re not going to be interfering in what the Reserve Bank has got to do.”
Watt says Australia has to diversify trade after EU deal collapse
By Caroline Schelle
Circling back to Agriculture Minister Murray Watt, who spoke about the collapse of negotiations with the EU over a free trade deal.
The last-ditch effort to secure a free trade agreement with the European Union over better access for Australian meat and protections for continental goods fell apart last month.
The minister was asked on ABC radio about the government’s efforts to diversifying the country’s trade portfolio.
Agriculture Minister Murray Watt.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen
“We can’t only count on China as our only market, and that’s why we are putting so much effort into developing alternative markets for our products,” Watt said this morning.
“It was disappointing that the EU negotiations fell over, but as we’ve said before, we weren’t prepared to sign up to a deal that was going to do-over Australian producers.”
He said over the past 12 months the government managed to open new market access for Australian agriculture producers in multiple countries.
“We expect that’s going to generate up to $5.5 billion in extra exports, so I think it’s not a matter of choosing China or other markets.
“We want to do both, but it is vital we do develop those other markets and not be so reliant on one.”
Analysis: Albanese’s high wire walk delivers promising result for Australia
By David Crowe
Anthony Albanese knew his meeting with Xi Jinping was a success when the Chinese president threw a quip about Kung Fu Panda into their talks on global security, trade and the economy.
The brief remark about a Hollywood comedy was a surprise detour in a discussion that sought to ease years of friction between Australia and its biggest trading partner.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the leaders agreed they would take the relationship forward after a tumultuous four years of hostility.Credit: AAP
But it mattered because it signalled the relaxed tone of a formal meeting in Beijing that could have sunk into acrimony and lecture.
The outcome is certainly good news for Australians. The public display in the Great Hall of the People, where Xi greeted Albanese with a smile, is a way of telling everyone that Australia and China are getting along again.
‘Not appropriate’ for China to join major trade partnership: Birmingham
By Caroline Schelle
Earlier, my colleague Olivia Ireland wrote that Agriculture Minister Murray Watt flagged there was a possibility for China to join a major trade partnership if it sticks to “a very large number of conditions”.
The superpower is eager to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) which Watt said gave the government confidence that relations could improve.
The opposition’s foreign affairs spokesman Simon Birmingham.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen
But the opposition’s foreign affairs spokesman Simon Birmingham said there were two big tests on whether it was appropriate for China to join the pact.
“China has been anything but a good citizen when it comes to trade in recent years,” he said on ABC RN Breakfast this morning.
Birmingham said the country weaponised its trade and breached the free trade agreement with Australia.
“It would not be appropriate for us right now to be looking at extending membership of another trade agreement to China, who have acted in such bad faith in recent years.”
There were also other questions about the CPTPP because it had some of the highest standards in the world including how state-owned enterprises operate.
“We would have to expect, and demand to see reforms in China to the transparency and operation of those state-owned enterprises, before you could countenance China meeting the very high standards of the CPTPP,” the Liberal senator said.
Paterson says it would be ‘absurd’ for China to join CPTPP
By Olivia Ireland
The opposition’s home affairs minister James Paterson hopes to see the remaining tariffs China has on Australian products removed, however, he says it would be absurd if the superpower joined a major international trade agreement.
Speaking to media, Paterson said the removal of beef and lobster tariffs following Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s visit to China would be positive, but did not see it as a strong enough case for China to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership.
Opposition home affairs spokesman James Paterson.Credit: Rhett Wyman
“I don’t think there’s a very good case at all for China to join the CPTPP. It’s one of the highest standards of trade agreements in the world and China has demonstrated in recent years that it’s not even willing to abide by the conditions of the voluntarily entered into China-Australia Free Trade Agreement,” he said.
“It would be quite absurd to admit to the CPTPP a country which has recently used its trade as an economic point of leverage and a weapon against its bilateral trading partners and I suspect that that would be the verdict of most members of the CPTPP as well.”
Record $74 million payout for victims of crime in Victoria
By Annika Smethurst and Broede Carmody
Crime victims were awarded more than $70 million last financial year after a surge in the number of Indigenous Victorians seeking assistance.
The Victims of Crime Assistance Tribunal’s annual report, released by the state government last week, showed a record $74 million was awarded to victims, a 20 per cent increase on the previous year.
Victims of Crime commissioner Fiona McCormack.Credit: Wayne Taylor
There was a 15 per cent rise in total claims, but applications for the Koori List – the section set aside for Indigenous victims – were up 50 per cent year-on-year.
The tribunal, established in 1996, provides financial assistance to victims of crime to help in their recovery. The payments can cover funeral and medical expenses, counselling and loss of earnings.
A record 8421 applications were filed with the tribunal last financial year. Of those, 582 were applications to the Koori List, also a record high.
Emergency bushfire warning for WA highway
Turning to WA, where an emergency warning has been issued for people travelling along parts of the state’s Goldfields Highway between Kalgoorlie and Menzies.
The warning for the Comet Vale area in the shire of Menzies was issued by WA’s Parks and Wildlife Service early on Tuesday after the fire crossed the highway.
“You are in danger and need to act immediately to survive. There is a threat to lives and homes,” the warning says.
It advised travellers north of the out-of-control fire to return to Menzies and those south of the fire to return to Kalgoorlie.
The Goldfields Highway has been closed from north of Kalgoorlie through to Menzies.
The parks service is managing the fire that was reported on Monday afternoon and is believed to have been sparked by lightning.
AAP
Inquiry to probe rationale for COVID lockdowns
By Natassia Chrysanthos
Evidence used to justify lockdowns and other pandemic interventions will be examined by the federal COVID-19 inquiry in an expansion of its scope, after the Albanese government was roundly criticised for omitting state government decisions from its remit.
A new detail on the inquiry’s website reveals it will consider how evidence was used to make decisions about “interventions, such as lockdowns, in different jurisdictions across Australia”.
NSW Mounted Police patrolling the streets of Fairfield during the 2021 Delta lockdown.Credit: Kate Geraghty
That explicit instruction was not in the original terms of reference, suggesting the three experts leading the inquiry believe there should be particular scrutiny of the way evidence was used to make decisions about lockdowns, school shutdowns and border closures.
It comes after the Albanese government’s COVID inquiry – held instead of a royal commission – was labelled a protection racket for Labor premiers by the federal opposition because of its weak powers and controversial decision to exclude the unilateral decisions of state governments from its scope.
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2023-11-07 00:18:42Z
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