NEWCASTLE, Australia — Large international aircraft such as Boeing 777s and Airbus 330s will be able to land in Newcastle under a plan to upgrade the regional New South Wales city’s airport runway and other facilities. Prime Minister Scott Morrison says the AUD 66 million ($51.31 million) investment, to be announced in next week’s federal budget, will be a game-changer for the Hunter and Central Coast community. “This investment will deliver hundreds of thousands of extra tourists to the region, spending money in local businesses, while exporters in the region will be able to access increased freight flights into new international markets,” he…
Author: zenger.news
MELBOURNE, Australia — Melbourne researchers have shed new light on the evolutionary mystery behind why some seals and sea lions swim differently from others. Unlike feet-propelled grey and harbor seals in the Northern Hemisphere, Australian-based fur seals and sea lions use wing-like front flippers for swimming. Biologists originally thought the forelimb and hindlimb propelled seal groups evolved from separate land-dwelling ancestors, but genetics has since disproved the theory. In the search of answers, Monash University biology and engineering researchers teamed up to study the underwater movement of seals and found some species developed larger front flippers for hunting. “Species like the Antarctic leopard seal probably…
WELLINGTON, New Zealand — Despite New Zealand’s accounts revealing extra billions in the kitty compared to budget forecasts, Finance Minister Grant Robertson isn’t about to soften his public sector pay clampdown. Robertson announced a pay freeze for much of New Zealand’s 400,000-strong public workforce on May 5, setting the scene for months of industrial struggle. The Public Service Association (PSA) says they’ve been deluged with responses from thousands of their members dismayed with the government’s approach. Based on the current condition, the association tweeted “So where do you think those specialist public servants earning over NZD 60,000 ($47,110) will end up…
BRISBANE, Australia — The battle for compensation for victims of North-eastern Australian state, Queensland’s 2011 flood disaster continues, even after a New South Wales court has ticked off an AUD 440 million ($310.89 million) settlement. The Queensland government and state-owned dam operator SunWater agreed in February to settle a class action claim by about 6700 victims whose properties were flooded a decade ago. That settlement was signed off in the New South Wales Supreme Court on May 3. But the actual figure for individuals is still being explored by the court. “Lurking under every rock and tree of this litigation is another issue about damages,” Justice Robert…
BAYSWATER, Australia — The Victorian government has committed AUD 759 million ($590 million) to help paramedics and hospitals cope with “unprecedented levels of demand.” The package, part of the state’s 2021/22 budget, was unveiled by Health Minister Martin Foley on May 7. He claims that the state’s health system has been dealing with challenges, “the likes of which it’s never had to deal with before,” since emerging from a prolonged coronavirus lockdown late last year. “We’ve seen unprecedented levels of demand over the course of 2020 and now in 2021, where we’ve seen just in the quarter gone, the highest level…
CANBERRA, Australia — Australia’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison is expected to announce the restart of Australian repatriation flights from India after a proposal was reportedly approved by the cabinet national security committee. In a meeting on May 6, the committee signed off on the plan to start repatriating Australians stranded in India as early as next week, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reports. As many as 200 passengers could be on the first flight, which would likely depart almost immediately after the temporary travel ban is lifted. The travel ban is in place until May 15, with about 9000 Australians stuck in India including…
CANBERRA, Australia — Some AUD 58.6 million ($45.50 million) of taxpayer money will be put towards the federal government’s “gas-fired” recovery in next week’s budget. The funding includes AUD 38.7 million ($30.05 million) for early works to help gas infrastructure projects and AUD 3.5 million ($2.72 million) to design and implement future investment plans if the private sector does not. The pre-budget announcement focuses on four main projects, including two gas storage projects at Golden Beach and Iona in Victoria. The other two projects are the expansion of the South West Victorian pipeline and an import terminal project, which is likely…
SYDNEY — Reserve Bank of Australia’s deputy governor Guy Debelle says the country’s economic recovery has exceeded all expectations but insists significant monetary policy support will be required for quite some time to come. Addressing an online event for an audience in Perth on May 6, Debelle said economic growth was now back to its pre-pandemic level while employment was above it. Unemployment has also declined rapidly to be 5.6 percent and is just half a percentage point higher than before the Covid-19 crisis. “While the Australian economy has experienced better employment outcomes than most other countries, wages growth in Australia…
MELBOURNE, Australia — Australian psychologists are calling for Medicare to be expanded so new parents receive better mental health support, which will in turn improve their child’s wellbeing. As Australia’s universal healthcare insurance scheme, Medicare ensures that all Australian citizens can get access to a broad spectrum of healthcare and hospital services at minimal or zero cost. Ahead of May 11 federal budget the Australian Psychological Society is highlighting the health issues parents face in the period immediately before and after birth. Founded in 1966, The Australian Psychological Society is a professional association of psychologists in Australia that strives to help…
SYDNEY — The value of Australian homes has topped AUD 8 trillion ($6 trillion) – more than the gross domestic product of almost every country on Earth. Real estate analyst CoreLogic on May 7, claims its estimate of the total value of the residential real estate in Australia has reached AUD 8.1 trillion ($6.3 trillion). This is equivalent to more than AUD 310,000 ($240,732) per Australian resident and more than every country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), barring the United States and China. It means the value of Australian real estate has almost doubled in a decade. “This puts Australian residential property…