The Morrison Government will invest $747 million to upgrade four key training areas and ranges in the Northern Territory to enable the Australian Defence Force to conduct simulated training exercises and remain battle ready.
Essential upgrades will be made to four key military training areas and weapon ranges in the Northern Territory, including: Robertson Barracks, Kangaroo Flats, Mount Bundey and Bradshaw.
These Defence training areas and facilities will support greater engagement with our Indo-Pacific neighbours and our allies, and to conduct small and large scale military exercises across a number of different scenarios.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the investment was part of almost $8 billion in defence capital infrastructure works over the next decade in the Northern Territory.
“This investment will deliver a jobs boom for the Northern Territory,” the Prime Mi.....
The Morrison Government has agreed a number of new measures to protect Australians from the increased risk of the COVID-19 outbreak in India, while also providing significant new support to assist the Indian Government in their humanitarian response.
We recognise the challenging COVID-19 crisis that India is currently battling and we stand ready to provide more support to our friends in India and Indian Australians during this difficult time.
On advice from the Chief Medical Officer, India has been determined to be a high-risk country for the purposes of travel arrangements.
Australia will implement a temporary pause on direct passenger flights between India and Australia for two weeks, with consideration of further flights to be made by 15 May 2021.
Passengers on all future flights will be required to have both a negative COVID-19 Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test result .....
The Morrison Government will make an additional $100 million investment to continue leading the world and our region in how we manage our ocean habitats and coastal environments and contribute to the global task of reducing emissions.
As the world’s only island continent, Australia has always understood that how we manage our oceans and coastal environments will determine the success or failure of our world’s efforts to address climate change. That is why we have been leading the world in taking action in this important area.
The investment package will target ‘blue carbon’ ecosystems that involve seagrass and mangroves playing a key role in drawing carbon out of the atmosphere. The package will also support Australian Marine Parks, expand the Indigenous Protected Areas into Sea Country and protect marine life.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Australia’s oceans econ.....
Washington: As the US President prepares to host leaders of 40 countries, including India, for a virtual summit on climate change later this week, Indian-American CEO of a top US firm believes that New Delhi has an opportunity to lead the world on climate change.
President Joe Biden will host the Leaders Summit on Climate on April 22 and 23. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is among the 40 world leaders invited by Biden to address the first ever summit on climate change by the US.
Climate is not only the right thing, the must do thing, it is the right business. And so, what I believe is that India certainly has the opportunity to lead on climate. It is in India's interest. And in the interest of all of humanity we need to address this crisis that is on our doorstep. Every one of us needs to do our part, Deloitte CEO Punit Renjen told PTI in a recent interview.
Renjen said the major .....
New Delhi: In a decision which is expected to significantly ease the process for re-issue of Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) cards, the Modi Government has decided to simplify the process. This decision has been taken on the directions of the Union Home Minister Shri Amit Shah.
The OCI Card has proved to be very popular amongst foreigners of Indian Origin and spouses of foreign origin of Indian citizens or OCI cardholders, as it helps them in hassle free entry and unlimited stay in India. So far about 37.72 lakh OCI Cards have been issued by the Government of India.
As per the extant law, a foreigner of Indian origin or a foreign spouse of an Indian citizen or foreign spouse of an Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) cardholder, can be registered as an OCI cardholder. OCI card is a life-long visa for entry into and stay in India with a number of other major benefits attached to it whic.....
Perth: More than 32,000 Western Australian jobs were created in March 2021 - the biggest growth on record.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics Labour Force report released today showed WA's growing economy reduced unemployment to 4.8 per cent (from 6 per cent in February 2021) - the lowest rate since December 2013 and the lowest rate of all the States.
This compares to a national unemployment rate of 5.6 per cent.
WA continues to lead the COVID-19 recovery - with all jobs lost due to the pandemic now recovered and a further 20,000 jobs created. "We all know job numbers can be volatile, but today's report highlights how our Recovery and Jobs Plan is delivering for Western Australians," said Premier and Treasurer Mark McGowan. "Our plan is creating WA jobs across the State, and helping diversify our economy in a range of industries like high tech manufacturing, agriculture, touris.....
A new investment from the Morrison Government will make Australia home to the world’s largest radio telescope that will put the country at the cutting edge of science and technology research while creating hundreds of new jobs during the construction phase.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the Government’s $387 million investment to build the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) radio telescope in Western Australia’s Murchison region would help astronomers learn more about our universe while creating more than 350 jobs during the 10-year construction phase and a further 230 ongoing positions over the 50-year life of the project.
“This $387 million investment highlights that science and advanced manufacturing are at the heart of my government’s National Economic Recovery Plan from the COVID recession,” the Prime Minister said.
“Our investment in the construction and opera.....
Canberra: The Government on Thursday announces that Australia will finalise the drawdown of our contribution to the NATO-led Resolute Support Mission in Afghanistan. Over the past two years, we have been reducing our military presence in Afghanistan from a high of over 1,500 personnel to around 80 personnel currently.
In line with the United States and our other allies and partners, the last remaining Australian troops will depart Afghanistan by September 2021.
This decision is consistent with the Government’s policy, as set out in the 2020 Defence Strategic Update, to prioritise military resources on our region.
This decision represents a significant milestone in Australia’s military history.
Over the last 20 years, Australia has been a steadfast contributor to the fight against terrorism in Afghanistan. Australia has fought alongside Coalition and Afghan partners to deg.....
Tokyo:Japan's government decided Tuesday to start releasing massive amounts of treated radioactive water from the wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant into the Pacific Ocean in two years an option fiercely opposed by local fishermen and residents.
The decision, long speculated but delayed for years due to safety concerns and protests, came at a meeting of Cabinet ministers who endorsed the ocean release as the best option.
The accumulating water has been stored in tanks at the Fukushima Daiichi plant since 2011, when a massive earthquake and tsunami damaged its reactors and their cooling water became contaminated and began leaking.
The plant's operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co., says its storage capacity will be full late next year.
Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said the ocean release was the "most realistic" option and that disposing the water is "unavoidable" for the decommissio.....
New Delhi: With a record 1,45,384 fresh cases, India's COVID-19 tally has climbed to 1,32,05,926, the health ministry said on Saturday
The number of active cases has breached the 10-lakh mark again after around six-and-a-half months, while the death toll due to the viral disease has gone up to 1,68,436 with 794 more fatalities, the highest since October 18 last year, the ministry's data updated at 8 am showed
Registering a steady increase for the 31st day in a row, the number of active coronavirus cases in the country has gone up to 10,46,631, accounting for 7.93 per cent of its total caseload, while the recovery rate has further dropped to 90.80 per cent
The active caseload was at its lowest at 1,35,926 on February 12, accounting for only 1.25 per cent of the total number of cases in the country
The number of people who have recuperated from the disease has surged to 1,19,9.....
Beijing: The Biden administration has added seven Chinese supercomputer research labs and manufacturers to a US export blacklist in a spreading conflict with Beijing over technology and security.
The measure announced Thursday is the latest sign President Joe Biden is sticking to the tough line taken by his predecessor, Donald Trump, toward Chinese tech industries seen by Washington as potential threats.
The decision adds to mounting conflict over the ruling Communist Party's industrial plans, access to American technology and accusations of computer attacks and theft of business secrets.
The latest penalties block access to US technology for researchers and manufacturers the Commerce Department said build supercomputers used by the Chinese military in weapons development.
Biden has said he wants better relations with Beijing but has given no indication he will roll back sanc.....
Canberra: Australia’s flight-path to recovery is well underway with the Australian Government welcoming the New Zealand Government's announcement that it will join the Safe Travel Zone between Australia and New Zealand. New Zealand announced Tuesday it will open a long-anticipated travel bubble with Australia on April 19.
This announcement will enable quarantine-free travel between Australia and New Zealand on both sides of the Tasman helping to reunite families and friends and giving tourism operators a significant boost.
It follows Australia’s opening of a one-way Safe Travel Zone from New Zealand to Australia six months ago, with more than 34,000 arrivals into Australia from New Zealand during that period.
This latest major step in the resumption of international travel has only been possible due to the internationally recognised, world-leading responses to the COVID-19 p.....