Australia information dwell: Marles and Wong to host talks with UK ministers; high faculties add $1.3m to deal with costs

US commerce consultant hails finish of Australian beef import restrictions

The USA commerce consultant has praised the top of Australian restrictions on American beef, calling them “unjustified barriers”. The federal authorities introduced yesterday it might enable imports into Australia of meat processed within the US however grown in Mexico and Canada.

“For decades, Australia imposed unjustified barriers on U.S. beef, effectively barring U.S. market access,” the US commerce rep, Jamieson Greer, wrote on X this morning. Greer added:

Because of @POTUS’ management, Australia is opening its market to U.S. recent and frozen beef, scoring a significant win for U.S. ranchers.

In a separate put up, the USTR known as it “a major milestone for the U.S.-Australia trade relationship” and “a historic win for U.S. ranchers”.

Wong urges de-escalation after preventing alongside Thai-Cambodian border, warns travellers

Josh Butler

The international minister, Penny Wong, says the federal authorities is alarmed by the battle alongside the border of Thailand and Cambodia, urging de-escalation from either side. The federal authorities can be urging warning for Australians travelling to each nations. She stated on X this morning:

Australia is deeply involved by escalating tensions throughout the Thai-Cambodian border, together with studies of accidents and lack of life. We urge either side to de-escalate and resolve border points peacefully.

We now have upgraded our journey recommendation for Australians to rethink their must journey to frame areas of Cambodia and Thailand.

The Smartraveller web site, relating to Thailand, says the Australian authorities “continue to advise exercise a high degree of caution overall. We now advise reconsider your need to travel to the border areas of Buriram, Si Saket, Surin and Ubon Ratchathani provinces near the Cambodia border due to armed conflict in the area.”

Armed battle between Thai and Cambodian forces alongside the Thai-Cambodian border has elevated. This contains studies of army strikes, violence and landmines within the border areas of Buriram, Si Saket, Surin and Ubon Ratchathani provinces. There are studies of casualties.

Observe the recommendation of native authorities, monitor native media for updates and pay shut consideration to your private safety. Border crossing factors alongside the Thai-Cambodian border proceed to be closed at quick discover.

For Cambodia, it’s a comparable story, however authorities “continue to advise exercise normal safety precautions overall. We now advise reconsider your need to travel to the border areas of the northern and north-western provinces of Preah Vihear and Oddar Meanchey due to armed conflict in the area”.

Spender says Labor has opened door to tax reform, and also you’ve obtained to maintain the ‘momentum’

Spender was requested concerning the want for a separate, mini-roundtable earlier than Chalmers’ personal. She stated the federal government’s push to open the door on tax adjustments had unfold all through Canberra, together with to the opposition, and he or she felt the necessity to maintain the “momentum” up. She informed RN Breakfast:

The federal government has extra broadly opened the door lastly to tax reform. You’re beginning to hear, you recognize, the opposition beginning to have interaction just a little bit on this space. And I feel that you simply’ve obtained to maintain the momentum up.

That is one thing that, once I look again at historical past, you take a look at the Hawke-Keating reforms, you take a look at the Howard-Costello reforms, and I feel most Australians would say these reforms have been tough, however they set the nation up for the long run.

Impartial MP Allegra Spender will maintain what’s being known as a tax reform roundtable in the present day. She informed RN Breakfast this morning reforming the tax system would assist Australia “solve some of its biggest problems” like sluggish productiveness and the price of residing disaster affecting younger individuals, in addition to fund the local weather transition.

The objective for this roundtable is to each contribute to the treasurer’s financial roundtable, contribute to a broader push for broader tax reform, and in addition convey the group on board …

I feel we do have a chance on this time period of parliament and into the following election to probably make the type of important reforms that may arrange our group for the following a long time to return.

Spender stated she nonetheless has points with treasurer Jim Chalmers’ plan to tax superannuation balances above $3m. Whereas it can in all probability move in parliament, she says she’s going to nonetheless attraction to Chalmers to make adjustments to raised handle her considerations surrounding unrealized beneficial properties.

Dfat offering consular help to household of man who died in Thailand

The Division of Overseas Affairs and Commerce (Dfat) is offering help to the household of a person discovered lifeless in a Thai lodge room earlier this week, sooner or later earlier than he was resulting from fly house to Australia.

The 21-year-old was discovered by housekeeping employees on the vacation island of Phuket on Wednesday, mendacity on his mattress along with his cellphone on his chest. There have been no indicators of assault or theft within the room, however police stated he was nonetheless on a cellphone name with somebody.

There have been no medicine or alcohol on the scene apart from over-the-counter painkillers as the person had been in a motorbike accident and injured his elbow the day earlier than his dying. A Dfat spokesperson stated:

The Division of Overseas Affairs and Commerce is offering consular help to the household of an Australian who died in Thailand. Owing to our privateness obligations we’re unable to supply additional remark.

Learn extra right here:

Luca Ittimani

Calls come as authorities prepares for financial roundtable

Requires tax adjustments have mounted forward of the Albanese authorities’s financial reform roundtable, now lower than a month away. The federal government’s Productiveness Fee can be contemplating choices for company tax reform as a part of a broader inquiry to report later this 12 months.

The proposed levy would increase between $2.14bn and $12.84bn yearly, relying on the dimensions of the levy and reductions, the AAS estimated. That income may then be invested through a brand new department of the federal government’s Future Fund, the returns of which could possibly be invested in analysis.

The academy has steered two choices for the levy – 0.25% of firm income, or 0.5%. It hasn’t prescribed a spending threshold at which companies must be allowed to start out claiming the low cost, as an alternative indicating companies that already spend sufficient on R&D to say an present tax offset must be eligible.

Scientists name for research-boosting tax hike

Luca Ittimani

Companies making greater than $100m in annual income ought to face a tax hike until they put apart cash for analysis and growth, the Australian Academy of Science has stated.

The academy has proposed a brand new levy on enterprise income that might be halved or eliminated in the event that they spend sufficient on R&D, in a bid to spice up analysis.

Corporations with important R&D expenditure, comparable to tech big Atlassian and medical firm CSL, would keep away from half or the entire levy, in keeping with the Academy’s evaluation of ATO knowledge. Corporations that spend subsequent to nothing on analysis, probably together with miner Fortescue and retailer Wesfarmers, could possibly be whacked with the total levy.

Australia’s analysis spend is proportionally low and declining, at simply 1.66% equal of its gross home product, nicely beneath the OECD common of two.7% of GDP spent on R&D, OECD stats present.

Good morning, Nick Visser right here to take over for Martin Farrer. Let’s get into the information.

Patrick Commins

Fee says reforms throughout a spread of areas required to sustainably raise development

Danielle Wooden, the Productiveness Fee’s chair, stated productiveness over the previous decade grew at lower than 1 / 4 of its 60-year common. She stated:

Australia must be a spot the place youngsters born in the present day can anticipate to dwell higher and extra affluent lives than the generations who’ve come earlier than them. Productiveness development is crucial to fulfilling that promise.

If we may enhance development from its present stage to its historic common, grownup Australian full-time staff could be at the least $14,000 a 12 months higher off by 2035.

No single coverage change will assure our prosperity – we have to make sensible reforms throughout a spread of areas to drive sustainable productiveness development.

In response to the PC’s scene-setting paper, Jim Chalmers stated there was “no quick fix” to the productiveness problem.

One of the simplest ways to strengthen our economic system and make it extra productive is to work by way of the problems in a methodical and regarded method in collaboration with enterprise, unions and the broader group.

Productiveness Fee identifies 5 key areas to spice up economic system

Patrick Commins

The Productiveness Fee has issued a name to arms forward of subsequent month’s financial reform roundtable, saying that discovering a technique to raise nationwide productiveness is “essential to fulfilling” the promise that every era will likely be higher off than the final.

The PC is making ready to launch 5 interim studies from separate inquiries that can current sensible reforms to deal with key elements of the nationwide productiveness problem.

The primary on 31 July will take a look at find out how to create a “more dynamic and resilient economy”, and embrace choices for tax adjustments to drive extra funding.

That will likely be adopted by studies on the clear power transition, the digital economic system, abilities and coaching, and the care economic system.

Households are paying as much as $1.3m extra to dwell in high public faculty catchments in main cities, Australian Related Press studies.

Evaluation from property platform Cotality exhibits patrons are prepared to pay considerably extra to entry high-performing faculties, despite the fact that comparable houses simply outdoors the catchment typically ship higher capital beneficial properties.

The analysis in contrast 9 faculty catchment clusters throughout Sydney and Melbourne.

“In some of the most in-demand school zones, families are paying hundreds of thousands and in one case more than a million dollars, more for a house compared to similar houses outside the boundary,” Cotality’s head of analysis, Eliza Owen, stated.

The most important value hole was in Sydney’s North Shore, the place houses within the mixed catchments of Killara excessive, Willoughby Ladies and Lindfield studying village held a median worth nearly $1.3m greater than houses close by however outdoors the catchment.

Regardless of this, homes within the catchment recorded decrease long-term development of 126.0% over the previous 15 years, in comparison with 150.3% in neighbouring markets.

In Melbourne, the premium for houses within the catchments of Princes Hill and College highschool reached $357,000, although capital development was weaker than in surrounding suburbs.

Owen emphasised the premiums in some faculty catchment zones may additionally replicate different components comparable to proximity to coach stations, or the excessive incomes of these residing throughout the space.

Aukmin assembly to happen in the present day

Penny Wong and Richard Marles will in the present day welcome their British counterparts – the international secretary, David Lammy, and defence minister, John Healey – for the newest spherical of talks between ministers from the 2 nations.

Generally known as Australia-United Kingdom ministerial consultations (Aukmin), the talks will happen in Sydney and can give attention to diplomatic and defence cooperation to handle challenges comparable to coverage within the Indo-Pacific.

On Sunday, Marles and Wong will be a part of their counterparts in Darwin to see this cooperation firsthand, with the deployment of a United Kingdom provider strike group to Australia as a part of Train Talisman Sabre 2025.

Marles, the defence minister and deputy prime minister, stated:

The UK is a important accomplice for Australia. We proceed to work intently collectively, together with by way of the Aukus partnership, to handle shared strategic challenges in an more and more complicated and unsure world.

We’re seeing a really actual instance of how this works, with the primary go to by a United Kingdom provider strike group to Australia since 1997.

I stay up for discussions within the coming days to advance our enduring relationship.”

Good morning and welcome to our dwell information weblog. I’m Martin Farrer with the highest in a single day tales earlier than Nick Visser takes up the reins.

The Productiveness Fee has recognized 5 key areas the place motion may be taken to enhance productiveness because it prepares for Jim Chalmers’ much-vaunted summit subsequent month. Within the coming days, the PC will launch studies on making a “more dynamic and resilient economy”, and embrace choices for tax adjustments to drive extra funding. The opposite areas would be the clear power transition, the digital economic system, abilities and coaching, and the care economic system. Extra developing.

Penny Wong and Richard Marles will likely be in Sydney this morning to welcome their British counterparts – the international secretary, David Lammy, and defence minister, John Healey – for the newest spherical of talks between ministers from the 2 nations. The so-called Aukmin talks will give attention to defence and diplomatic cooperation. Extra developing.

Plus, new knowledge places some numbers on the postcode premium – how a lot a sought-after faculty provides to deal with costs close by. However there’s additionally a shock: it might be an excellent funding within the children, however not a lot within the property. Extra on that quickly too.