HOBART, Australia — When New Zealander Sam traveled to Tasmania last year to meet his Tasmanian partner’s family for the first time, he didn’t expect to stay for long. “He went over in March last year, what turned out to be the weekend before lockdown,” Claire, his mother, said. “I dropped him off at the bus stop, and we had a discussion in the car along the lines of ‘Oh, you know this Covid, it’ll blow over.” “Well, more or less, he got stuck.” Not only did he get stuck, New Zealander Sam and his Tasmanian partner Laura got to work.…
Author: zenger.news
MELBOURNE, Australia — Australia and Canada have put a cork in a long-running trade dispute over wine with restrictions set to be dropped on bottles from Down Under. Quebec was the last remaining province with the unfair measures, which included putting Australian wines into a “store within a store” in supermarkets while local tipples were on regular shelves. Under a settlement through the international trade umpire, restrictions will be phased out, allowing Australian products to compete on a level playing field with Canadian drops. Other restrictions included loopholes, extra taxes, and mark-ups on imported wine. Australia first challenged the measures in…
MELBOURNE, Australia — Car manufacturers and environmental groups have teamed up against the government of the southeast Australian state Victoria’s proposed electric vehicle tax in a bid to stop the plan they describe as regressive. An alliance of 25 companies and organization have inked a letter to Victoria’s parliament urging MPs to vote against the plan, which the state government wants to start from July. It’s a push from the state’s treasurer to make AUD 30 million ($23.15 million) over four years to make up for lost funds from fuel excise as petrol cars are used less on the roads. The…
MELBOURNE, Australia — Global tech giant Amazon will be the anchor tenant of a new AUD 1.5 billion ($1.16 billion) office tower in central Melbourne. The United States-based company will lay down fresh roots at Charter Hall’s new office development on Collins Street once it is completed. The first tower at 555 Collins Street is expected to accommodate about 4,500 workers, and Stage 1 construction will create more than 1,500 construction jobs. Approval for the two-tower project was fast-tracked last May by a state government task force established to revitalize the local economy during the Covid-19 pandemic. Treasurer Tim Pallas, Melbourne Lord Mayor Sally Capp, and project partners on…
ADELAIDE, Australia — The Australian Federal Court will consider imposing fresh restrictions on an Adelaide woman soon to be released from jail after being convicted of being a member of a terrorist group. The action against Zainab Abdirahman-Khalif comes after she was returned to prison late last year when the High Court overturned her appeal court acquittal on taking steps to be a member of the terror group Islamic State. She is due for release early next month, prompting the Federal Court on April 22 to schedule a hearing on May 4 to consider imposing control orders on her movements and…
BRISBANE, Australia — Queensland is set to pass laws allowing courts to fit teen offenders with Global Positioning System trackers and remove bail presumptions for those caught committing serious offenses while on bail. The controversial laws, which are being debated in state parliament, are set to pass on April 22. They target about 400 repeat offenders, most of whom are Indigenous, allegedly responsible for almost half of all youth crime in the state. The issue became highly charged following the deaths of pedestrians Kate Leadbetter, who was pregnant, and her partner Matt Field. The couple was struck by an allegedly stolen…
SYDNEY — Australian universities have dominated a global ranking system measuring their work in solving some of the world’s greatest sustainability challenges, including poverty, gender equality, and climate change. The Times Higher Education Impact Rankings looked at the achievements of 1,240 tertiary institutions across 17 sustainable development goals, with four Australian universities ranked in the top 10, three more than any other country. While the University of Manchester took the top spot, it was followed by the University of Sydney and then Melbourne’s RMIT and La Trobe universities. The University of Wollongong was ranked equal sixth alongside the Aalborg University in…
CANBERRA, Australia — China has slammed Australia’s “provocative” decision to tear up Victoria’s Belt and Road Initiative agreement with Beijing, warning the move will further damage bilateral relations. Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne announced on April 21 that the infrastructure deal had been canceled under new foreign veto powers. China’s embassy in Australia responded swiftly, expressing “strong displeasure and resolute opposition” to Senator Payne’s announcement. “This is another unreasonable and provocative move taken by the Australian side against China,” a Chinese embassy spokesperson said in a statement. “It further shows that the Australian government has no sincerity in improving China-Australia relations.…
CANBERRA, Australia — Another half a billion Australian dollar cheque has been written by the Scott Morrison government to help Australia foster international partnerships on clean energy technology. It’s the latest climate-related budget announcement from Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison as he gears up to participate in a summit organized by United States President Joe Biden. It brings together the world’s biggest polluters in a bid to ramp up global climate action. Morrison has on April 22 announced AUD 565.8 million ($438.39 million) to co-fund research and demonstration projects in low-emissions technologies. Former chief scientist Alan Finkel will lead work on…
GLADSTONE, Australia — The government of the northeastern Australian state of Queensland has said it would act alone in response to U.S. President Joe Biden’s climate change summit to avoid being “left in the dust” with the federal government. The summit starting on April 22 brings together the world’s biggest polluters in a bid to ramp up global climate action. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has announced AUD 565.8 million ($438.2 million) to co-fund research and demonstration projects in low-emissions technologies ahead of the talks. President Biden invited 40 world leaders to leaders summit on climate change on March 26, 2021, for the economic…