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ABC News 24; News from Australia
Topic Started: Sep 23 2014, 07:42 PM (115 Views)
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EBOLA: Government to Ban Travel to West Africa

In the federal governments first notable reaction to the ebola outbreak in West Africa, it has been announced today by the Prime Minister that all travel by Australian citizens and residents to ebola affected areas will be prohibited. In addition to the travel ban the government was also banning all incoming flights from transit destinations, where the originating flight was from an affected country.

The move comes after several recent ebola scares in Queensland and Western Australia, the latest a woman who had recently been to Sierra Leone. The new travel restrictions will come into effect immediately according to a government spokesperson who also said anyone suspected of having traveled to an effected country will be detained immediately and placed into quarantine. "What we don't want to see is an outbreak reaching Australian shores and the community in panic. That is why today we have introduced these new measures to minimize the risk, and ensure public safety and well being." said the Prime Minister.

The government did not declare what it's position was on the international effort to contain the outbreak, or if any assistance would be provided. Although the Prime Minister stated that Australia will not blindly commit personnel or hardware before in a state of panic, before a a serious discussion has been had on how to deal with the outbreak as a global community. "We need to know the true extent of the situation on the ground before we can commit anything meaningful. To do otherwise would be as irresponsible of this government as doing nothing."

It Is understood several countries have already responded to an appeal at the United Nations to provide support.

Health experts are warning one and a half million people could be infected in the next six months, with this particular strain killing over half of those infected. Already over 2,500 have died in the affected countries, although some health experts are suggesting the true number of infected and dead could be much higher due to the poor infrastructure and authorities lack of ability to control the situation on the ground in affected countries.
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Will Canberra sink or float local ship building?

With former high ranking Australian Defense Force memners voicing their concern about the controversial submarine project, specifically the rumors the federal government will choose not only a Japanese design but opt to have up to 12 new submarines built in Japan, the Minister for Defence, who at one point praised the Japanese built submarines, has remained quiet on the issue.

If the decision to go all - Japanese is made it will greatly affect ship building industry jobs in an already struggling manufacturing sector. Particularly hundreds of millions of dollars of government both state and federal will have been wasted on establishing a techport and a Defence and ship building industry hub around the ASC facility in Adelaide.
Highly skilled and specialized jobs will be lost. Aside from the economic and socio - economic impact such a decision would have, veterans are disgruntled at the prospect of the Royal Australian Navy operating a Japanese submarine named in honor of world war two Japanese aircraft carrier which launched bombings on Darwin.

The total cost to build the new submarines, ad well as design them In Australia would cost around $40 billion. The government has suggested it would be cheaper to purchase them 'off the shelf' from Japan. However this has been pointed out as a short sighted policy for several reasons. Importantly the Japanese submarines do not meet the unique requirements of the Australian Defence Force/Royal Australian Navy, specifically the short range of these submarines has been pin pointed as a problem. On the issue of cost benefit however, whole the initial costs of building, or purchasing these submarines from Japan would be cheaper and save several billion, overall the cost to build and operated will be on par with an Australian design/build. Former Royal Australian Navy officers have also highlighted that the Japanese submarines have a shorter operational life span the Australia tequila, therefore they would need replacing sooner thus negating any initial savings.

More damning for the Abbott governments potential purchase of Japanese submarines however is the comments of a current high ranking Royal Australian Navy officer who has said such a strategic tool for a large island nation such as Australia should not be placed in the hands of a foreign entity or government. The officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity said that it was ludicrous to think that any government would consider outsourcing such a strategically vital project to the nation's security.

A government spokesperson said no decision had yet been made.
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Abbott: We will take down IS, any threat to Australia

The Prime Minister Tony Abbott this afternoon was not mincing words, declaring his government will do whatever W's required to destroy IS, or as he has famously called them, a death cult, as well as any threat to Australian security and interests both at home and abroad.

"The security and safety of our nation is paramount. We will not waiver in our fight against these barbaric death cults and other murderous savages, wherever they may be. The Australian Defence Force, one of the most modern and technologically advanced and highly skilled, as well as our highly professional and dedicated security and law enforcement agencies stand ready to face any threat and challenge to this nation, our nation, Australia. Australians can rest assured that everything is being done, and every tool is being made available to our armed forces and security services to ensure Australia's security, their security. Wherever Australian citizens may be, Australia will respond."

The statement comes as four more individuals, linked to the man shot dead by police from the joint counter terrorism taos force had their passports canceled, with one being detained at Melbourne airport attempting to leave the country.
Police said the man was detained at a check in desk, and that a brief struggle ensued before federal police subdued the individual.

An Islamic children's charity in Sydney has been deregistered, with JTC Taskforce officers storming the groups offices in Sydneys western suburbs. Computers and other documents were seized as well as company registered vehicles. The offices remain under police guard. Authorities said the charity was under investigation for several months over suspicions it was a front organization, which was providing funds for extremist groups in Iraq, Syria and Libya.

The raid on the charity, which was next door to a mosque, drew an an angry protest by people attending the mosque. Several dozen people hurled abuse at police as they carries out their business, with one man saying "How can they kick the doors in of a children's charity and sleep at night. This is the targeting of Muslims in Australia."
Authorities however dismissed the concerns saying a full Investigation was undertaken with solid intelligence proving the group was a front organization for extremists.
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Government 180 - Subs Will be Built Locally

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Following a secret and lengthy inquiry and review into the process of buying and building Australia's next generation fleet of submarines, which included examining all the pros and cons of each realistic option identified by the Department of Defence and Royal Australian Navy, the government has announced that the next generation of submarines will be built in Australia, by Australians, for Australia.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott refused to acknowledge that his government was ever seriously considering buying submarines built in Japan, but said that as a responsible government all options and possibilities had to be examined thoroughly. What was not ruled out however by either the Prime Minister or Defence Minister, was the inclusion of foreign technologies on the new submarines.

The Defence Minister said that it was common place for high tech weapons platforms to include components sourced from abroad, that even some of America's front line fighter aircraft included components from European suppliers. "Even Australia's current submarines the Collin Class have systems on board that are from the United States. This is not an issue, and I would like to categorically rule out that it will cost any Australia his or her job. It is the responsibility of the media to convey this message, this fact, and not run wild as they did with speculation and wild rumors of where the submarines will be built."

The Australian Submarine Corporation, ASC, is expected to be selected to design and build the submarines. The tender process is expected to conducted in secrecy due to the submarines being highlighted as being of strategic importance to national security.

What was not revealed however, or ruled out specifically, has reportedly raised eyebrows with a number of regional governments, namely China. While the details revealed thus far have more or less allowed conclusions to be drawn, one bit of information that was not made public was what the propulsion system would be, or where it would come from. This has lead some defence analysts and observers to speculate that the nuclear option has not been taken off the table. The previous United States of America ambassador to Canberra had once said that his country would be willing to cooperate with Australia on building a nuclear powered submarine fleet, and while Canberra did not suggest it was a viable offer, it did not dismiss it either.
Some observers have suggested that a possible Australian design could be loosely based on a smaller version of the American Virginia class submarine internally, with the propulsion system, a nuclear reactor, being sourced from the United States. However the major stumbling block would then be maintenance as the specialized infrastructure to service, maintain and repair nuclear marine propulsion systems does not exist in Australia. "That could be over come with an initial contract being signed to supply and support the fleet, with maintenance and repairs being under taken in the United States. With nuclear propulsion, the submarines would only be limited by supplies on board as to how far they can sail, which is easily over come. Support could be provided in the United States until adequate facilities were established in Australia," said a defence analyst at Australian National University.

The government would not comment on the possibilities of the next generation submarine fleets propulsion system, the Defence Minister only saying that the review was part of a wider review of Australia's naval capabilities and requirements, and that the best for Australia will be chosen.
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More Labor Leadership Woes? Shorten Swept Aside, Albanese Takes Charge

After a relatively stable period in the Labor party, at least publicly, the opposition leader Bill Shorten has been removed as leader of the Australian Labor Party. His colleagues, also his critics, have publicly and privately blasted him over his inability to capitalize on the governments blunders and ultimately blamed him for his own demise. Bill Shorten came to lead the Labor party after Kevin Rudd imfamously retook the leadership from Julia Gillard, with Bill Shorten playing a pivotal role behind the scenes in first removing Kevin Rudd during his first term as Prime Minister and installing Julia Gillard as his replacement, and then later helping remove Gillard and bring back Rudd to the leadership.

Anthony Albanese, who was also a favorite to replace Kevin Rudd after the 2013 election loss, has replaced Bill Shorten as leader of the Labor Party and opposition leader. Tanya Plibersek, Bill Shortens deputy leader, who contested the leadership but failed to secure enough numbers to elevate her, has decided to step down and quit politics effective immediately. Chris Bowen, a rather popular figure within Labor and particularly it's youth wing and is the current shadown treasurer, has been promoted to deputy opposition leader.

Anthony Albanese said that the time was now to act, before the 2016 election. At a media briefing he said, "While I understand many especially the party faithful and ordinary Australian's will be thinking 'not again', let me assure you this is not the same old Labor tearing it self apart from within. Mr Shorten has done an excellent job in uniting the Australian Labor Party. Since Bill Shorten was voted as opposition leader we have all, my self included, thrown our full support behind him, and our Labor party and it's cause. We have put aside our differences and worked together. Unfortunately Mr Shorten was unable to capitalize on Tony Abbotts and Joe Hockeys series of blunders, and where they should have been held to account they got off lightly. We are headed into an election year, an election is possibly 18 months away at this stage. We can not wait till the moment before an election is upon us to move in the right direction that is why as a party, we have decided to make the necessary changes now. This is about demonstrating to the Australian people that we can and are offering an alternative vision for government. For a better Australia. And that is what we will all be aiming to do from now until the day of the next election."

Prime Minister Tony Abbott laughed off the challenge, saying it's just more of the same, typical Labor disunity, and asked "is anyone really surprised by this? what I wonder is how many more leadership changes will Labor go through before the next election."

Anthony Albanese's reshuffled Shadow Cabinet;

Leader of the Opposition and Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs - Anthony Albanese
Deputy Leader and Shadow Treasurer - Chris Bowen
Leader of the Opposition in the Senate and Shadow Minister for Trade and Investment - Penny Wong
Shadow Minister for Defence - Joel Fitzgibbon
Shadow Minister for Infrastructure and Transport and Shadow Minister for Resources - Brendan O'Connor
Shadow Minister for Tourism and Manager of Opposition Business - Stephen Conroy
Shadow Minister for Finance - Tony Burke
Shadow Minister for Environment, Climate Change and Water - Mark Butler
Shadow Minister for Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Industry and Shadow Minister Assisting the Leader for Science - Kim Carr
Shadow Minister for Communications and Shadow Special Minister of State - Jason Clare
Shadow Attorney General, Shadow Minister for the Arts - Mark Dreyfus
Shadow Minister for Education and Early Childhood - Kate Ellis
Shadow Minister for Agriculture and Shadow Minister for Rural Affairs - Gary Gray
Shadow Minister for Health and Shadow Minister for Ageing - Catherin King
Shadow Minister for Families and Payments and Shadow Minister for Disability Reform - Jenny Macklin
Shadow Minister for Immigration and Border Protection and Shadow Minister for Northern Australia - Richard Marles
Shadow Minister for Indigenous Affairs and Shadow Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations - Shayne Neumann


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Budget 2015/6

It is that time of year again where the Federal Budget has been handed down, and where we can all sit back and either relax at our fortunes, or start to stress and worry and loose hair over how to make ends meet for another year after the government lands some more blows to our own budgets.

Treasurer Joe Hockey said his latest budget is as fair and practical as possible, and that the government was still battling to get the budget under control after years of reckless spending of money 'the didn't have to spend'.

Some twenty one billion will be spent on paying the interest on government debt, which Joe Hockey said was necessary to pay down Labor's debt sooner so Australia can get on with business sooner rather then later. "This is what we do, Labor blows the budget out, creates mountains of debt, and the Australian people bring us in to government to clean up the mess Labor governments create. Our aim is by the 2016/2017 budget to have reduced the deficit to almost nil. It is a tough task that has landed in our lap, no thanks to the previous Labor government's reckless and irresponsible spending sprees and unfunded programs, however we have almost managed to bring the budget under total control again. This government remains committed to responsible spending within Australia's means."

Overall expenditure has been reduced by 7 billion, with the biggest hits coming to recreation & culture, housing and community amenities, and foreign aid. Although Prime Minister Tony Abbott said that while there has been a reduction in allocated funds to the foreign aid budget, that Australia's foreign aid will be better spent so Australia gets more value for it's dollar from aid recipients. The statement drew an immediate outcry from human rights groups and advocates, who said that the most needy and poorest in the world will miss out on basic foreign assistance.

Some economic analysts however have warned the government has continued to focus too much on paying down debt, and that if the trend continues it will hurt productivity and economic output in the mid to long term. One professor of economics said "While it is prudent to ensure debt does not spiral out of control, and keep interest repayments under control, it should not be the primary focus in a country like Australia whose overall debt is small as a percentage of GDP. Australia can afford to take on more debt, if it is spent wisely to increase economic activity and create jobs, to stimulate the economy."

Social Security, Health and Education will all see a minor increase in spending, while the Defence budget will increase by almost a billion on last financial year. The Defence Minister has tipped an increase to Defence spending, saying that Australia's defence spending needs to increase to over 2%, up from the current 1.8%, in order for Australia to continue to meet it's obligations internationally and specifically regionally. "The Australian Defence Force plays a pivotal role not only in military operations around the world where Australia's and the International communities security is at risk, but also a vital role in responding to regional humanitarian crisis' that arise. For this reason Australia bought the two Canberra class amphibious vessels, the largest vessels the Royal Australian Navy has operated. And the Australian Defence Force continues to evolve and modernize to meet the challenges of the twenty first century both at home, in our region and beyond."

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2015-16 Budget Overview -

Revenue: $546 billion
Expenditure $552 billion

Social security and welfare $173 billion
Other purposes $105 billion
Health $89 billion
Education $58 billion
Defence $27 billion
General Public Services $29 billion
Other Economic Affairs $14 billion
Transport & Communication $15 billion
Fuel & Energy $9 billion
Housing & Community Amenities $5 billion
Public Order & Safety $11 billion
Recreation & Culture $5 billion
Agriculture, Foresty & Fishing $6 billion
Mining, manufacturing and construction $6 billion
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Merger to Create Super Research and Development Board

The federal government has announced that the administration of several government research and development organizations will be merged into one 'super board', as a means to cut costs and streamline operations and improve efficiency. The Defence Science and Technology Organization(DSTO, the Commonwealth Science and Industrial Research Organization(CSIRO), the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation(ANSTO), and the National Information and Communications Technology Australia(NICTA) will essentially be merged into a super research and development organization to be known as the Australian Advanced Research and Development Organization, or AARDO.

Primarily the administration side of each individual organization will be eliminated and merged into a single entity. While each organization will technically remain in existence, they will all fall under the administration and control of AARDO(AARDO | DSTO). The changes will bring together more then 11,000 government scientists, engineers, physicists and other technical experts. The 'super' organization will have an initial operating budget, combined, of over a billion dollars, however the government has said that the AARDO budget will be significantly and dramatically increased in the following years(2016/17) budget.

The Prime Minister made a statement, "What we want to do is to create an environment where all the relevant organizations and agencies are able to work closer together and collaborate more efficiently to provide the best possible results for Australia. The work these organizations do is vital to Australia, and significant on an international level. This change, and the increase in funding from next year, will ensure that the scientific research and developments made in Australia will continue to be at the forefront and cement our place as global leaders."
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