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CANBERRA — More than 100 professionals from across Australia’s renewable energy sector gathered in Canberra for the third Energy Capital networking event, highlighting the growing importance of the national capital as a meeting place for one of the country’s fastest-evolving industries. Hosted by RenewMap at Verity Lane Market, the event drew developers, government representatives, investors, consultants, suppliers, start-ups…

Foreign Minister Penny Wong has announced eight new senior diplomatic appointments across Europe, Africa, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Latin America, the Pacific and APEC, in a reshuffle that quietly reveals where Canberra sees its foreign policy pressure points. The new appointments are: Wong described the appointees as “experienced career officials”, and that is the…

By David Maywald Over three days in late June, I joined around 4,000 delegates from more than 100 countries at the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship (ARC) conference in London. Among them were 1,000 young leaders under the age of 35; a striking reminder that this isn’t simply a gathering of established thinkers, but an investment…

By Michael Keating | Inside Canberra Australia has released what is arguably its most detailed defence industry blueprint ever produced. Spread across 184 pages—a 106-page Defence Industry Development Strategy, a 78-page technical annex, and supporting fact sheets—the documents represent a fundamental rethink of how Australia intends to design, build, maintain and export military capability over the coming decade.…

By Michael Keating | Inside Canberra Australia’s defence procurement system is set for its biggest structural overhaul in half a century, with Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy using a National Press Club address to announce a series of reforms aimed at reducing cost blowouts, accelerating project delivery and strengthening Australia’s sovereign defence industrial base.  While…

CANBERRA, July 1 — Australia is failing to capitalise on one of the world’s fastest-growing economic regions, with leading African-Australian academic Professor Mimi Claudine Watts urging Parliament to pursue a far more ambitious engagement strategy built on education, science, business and diaspora leadership. Appearing before the Parliamentary Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade’s…

Tuesday’s sitting of the House of Representatives saw fierce exchanges over housing affordability, cost-of-living pressures, government spending, healthcare and integrity, before ending in dramatic fashion with the suspension of a Coalition MP. While much of Question Time followed the familiar pattern of government members asking ministers to promote policy achievements, the day’s most substantive moments…

Nearly half of Australian businesses report rising operating expenses, with business overheads and staffing costs emerging as the dominant financial challenge despite easing fuel price pressures. Australia’s businesses continue to face significant cost pressures, with new Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data revealing that 46 per cent of businesses experienced higher operating expenses during the…

The extraordinary volatility of Australian politics has continued, with two new national polls suggesting the Albanese Government has regained momentum after weeks of unprecedented gains by Pauline Hanson’s One Nation. The latest AFR/RedBridge Group poll places Labor back in first place on the primary vote, recording 30 per cent, ahead of One Nation on 29…

By Michael Keating | Inside Canberra Three newly appointed Heads of Mission have formally commenced their diplomatic duties in Australia after presenting their credentials to the Governor-General, Her Excellency the Honourable Sam Mostyn AC, during a ceremonial event at Government House in Canberra. The presentation of credentials is one of diplomacy’s most significant formal traditions.…