ROLLING COVERAGE: Australian car manufacturer Holden has announced plans for offshore manufacturing of it’s iconically Australian vehicles. Several press conferences have been held this afternoon, join The Global Panorama below for rolling coverage. We’ll be posting and tweeting the latest from the factories and Canberra below. Got a tip? Tweet us: More to come. LIVE UPDATES: Tweets from https:// 4.39PM (AEST): Highlights from South Australian’s Premier, Jay Weatherill’s press conference in Adelaide: […]
Jasper Lindell, Correspondent (Oceania) CANBERRA — Australia has downplayed tensions with nearby Asian countries and has worked to repair diplomatic relations with them, following revelations they spied on the Indonesian president and comments they made that angered China. The diplomatic row over spying with Indonesia has eased, following a letter the Australian prime minister, Tony Abbott, had had hand-delivered to the Indonesian president, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, outlined to Indonesia Australia’s position on the issue. […]
Jasper Lindell, Correspondent (Oceania) BRISBANE — Around 1,000 people have gathered at a memorial service to remember a South Korean woman, who was murdered during the weekend, as a 19-year-old faced court charged with her murder. The body of 22-year-old Eunji Ban, who had only been in Australia for six weeks, was located just before 5 am in Parklands near the CBD on November 24. Local police charged Alex Reunen McEwan with Ban’s murder […]
Jasper Lindell, Correspondent (Oceania) CANBERRA — Jakarta has recalled its Australian ambassador and halted military co-operation with Australia following the publication of a leaked document showing that the country tapped the mobile phones of the Indonesian president and his inner circle. The document, obtained by a former National Security Agency (NSA) contractor Edward Snowden, was published on Monday by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) and Guardian Australia. The slide presentation, dated November 2009, details […]
Jasper Lindell, Correspondent (Oceania) CANBERRA — Hundreds of jobs are under threat at Australia’s lead science and research organisation. The Commonwealth Science and Research Organisation (CSIRO) informed staff of changes to its recruitment processes on October 31. This came before the federal government imposed a hiring freeze on the public service on November 7, which it promised, during the election, to cut by 1,200 jobs. The changes CSIRO announced include temporary suspension of external recruitment […]
Anthony Segaert, Correspondent (Oceania) CANBERRA – The Federal Government is set to challenge the ACT’s recently introduced same sex marriage laws in the High Court of Australia, despite recent amendments to the controversial bill. Federal Attorney General George Brandis’ spokesperson confirmed that the Government, led by conservative leader, Prime Minister Tony Abbott, would challenge the bill, which allows gay and lesbian couples to be legally married in the Australian Capital Territory. The government, according […]
Sophie Moss, Correspondent (Oceamia) SYDNEY — In the lead up to the closely contested federal election on September 7, the Australian government has issued an uncompromising crackdown on the number of refugees seeking asylum within Australian borders — a decision that has ignited harsh criticism from many Australian citizens. In July, Labor Prime Minister Kevin Rudd announced that asylum-seekers travelling by boat to seek refuge in Australia would instead be intercepted and sent to […]
Miles McCormack Correspondent (Oceania) CANBERRA — Australia’s labor party this week raised global attention with a campaign highlighting the need for a national broadband network in the country. The ad, focused on selling the Australian internet as promised by Labor’s opposition, The Coalition, worldwide. The video has cleverly drawn attention to the fact that internet connectivity and speed is anything but a given in 2013, as well as acting a vital campaign tool for Rudd’s […]
Cate Reynolds-Foote, Correspondent (Oceania) James Lillis was on the verge of bankruptcy in 2009 when he took up a hobby that inadvertently began one of Australia’s best-known companies. He had the desire to sew, so by pawning his stereo he acquired a sewing machine and began sewing any material scraps he could get his hands on. His hobby became an obsession and soon basic necessities such as food came second to fuelling his new passion […]
Cate Hopkins, Correspondent (Oceania) As the Australian election campaign begins to build momentum, immigration laws find themselves in the spotlight once more. This week, five people are thought to have died as a boat carrying over 100 asylum seekers sank in the Java Trench. The boat is believed to have been bound for Christmas Island, the territory north of Jakarta where Australia operates an asylum seeker detention centre. 106 people are believed to have […]
