by admin | May 25, 2021 | Business, Commodities, Commodities News, Economy, Markets, Medium Enterprise, News
Canberra : Australia and Brazil have decided to escalate a trade dispute with India over sugar subsidies before the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Canberra said.
Trade Minister Simon Birmingham announced this late Wednesday after it was decided that subsidies paid to Indian sugar farmers was leading to an abundant global supply of sugar and significantly lower prices, disadvantaging other country’s farmers.
The global sugar price has hit a 10-year low, crippling sugar farmers in Australia who have also had to combat drought and floods, he said.
“That’s hurting canegrowers and sugar millers whether they’re in Australia, Brazil, or any other country in the world,” Birmingham told reporters.
Birmingham said that Australia has voiced its concerns to India to no avail, leaving the government with “no other choice but to initiate formal WTO dispute action, together with Brazil”, Xinhua news agency said.
“Last year, we saw around 1 billion Australian dollars (AUD) of additional new subsidies to Indian sugar farmers,” he said.
According to the Australian Sugar Mining Council, the subsidies could amount to 360 million AUD in losses for Australian farmers over the 2017-2018 and 2018-2019 financial years.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | World
Canberra : The Australian government on Monday announced the signing of a A$50 billion ($35 billion) agreement with the French Naval Group for the construction of its new fleet of 12 Attack class submarines.
In a “defining moment for the country”, the submarines “will help protect Australia’s security and prosperity for decades to come and also deepen the defence relationship between Australia and France”, a joint government statement from Prime Minister Scott Morrison, Minister for Defence Christopher Pyne and Minister for Defence Industry Steven Ciobo said.
The statement said the submarines, which will be designed and built in Australia for the Navy, will generate an average of 2,800 jobs, reports Efe news.
The Australian government is committed to maximising “local industry” involvement in the programme and “to ensure Australians get the most out of this important national investment”, it added.
It is expected to take more than 10 years for the first submarine to be ready.
Australia decided in 2016 that the French Naval Group (formerly known as DCNS) would be responsible for the construction of its new submarine fleet after a tender, but it did not sign the contract until recently, after months of negotiations.
The work on the submarines has taken place under the Design and Mobilisation Contract which will continue under the Strategic Partnership Agreement.
The announcement coincides with China’s growing civil and military presence in the South China Sea and the concern in the region about free navigation in the main passage between the Indian and Pacific Oceans.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Markets, Social Media, Technology, World
Canberra : The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) on Monday proposed measures to counter the dominant market positions of Google and Facebook and strengthen monitoring on their access to information, advertising and consumers personal data.
The regulatory body, which recommended 11 preliminary measures in the report, was directed to conduct a public inquiry into the impact of digital search engines, social media platforms and other digital content in 2017 by then treasurer and current Prime Minister Scott Morrison.
“Acting as an intermediary between consumers and news outlets, platforms are inherently influential in shaping consumers’ choices of digital journalism,” said the report cited by Efe news.
This influential position and filtration of news items could place the consumer in a so-called filter bubble, increasing the risk of consumers being exposed to unreliable news, according to the report.
“The algorithms operated by each of Google and Facebook, as well as other policies, determine which content is surfaced and displayed to consumers in news feed and search results,” it said.
“The ACCC considers that the strong market position of digital platforms like Google and Facebook justifies a greater level of regulatory oversight,” Chair Rod Sims said.
The commission called for the creation of a regulatory authority with powers to monitor these digital platforms and recommended establishing an automatic mechanism to take down content that violates copyright.
The ACCC said consumers should be informed about the manner in which these platforms collect and use their data to create personalized advertising.
This would include a reform of privacy laws to require the user’s express consent to data collection and “enable consumers to require erasure of their personal information where they have withdrawn their consent”.
ACCC said that it found that “competition may have been distorted in multiple sectors where consumer data is used”.
Facebook has 17 million monthly users in Australia — 68 per cent of its population — while Instagram, second most popular site in terms of users – which is owned by Facebook, has 11 million users.
In 2017, Google registered 90 per cent of search traffic originating from Australian desktops and 98 per cent from mobile phones.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Corporate Jobs, Employment, Overseas, Private Jobs
Bengaluru : Software major Infosys on Thursday said it will be creating 1,200 jobs and opening three innovation hubs in Australia by 2020 to reduce digital skills gap.
“We are creating 1,200 new skilled jobs for graduates and professionals and opening three innovation hubs by 2020 to accelerate digital leadership for our clients in Australia,” said the city-based IT behemoth in a statement here.
To meet Australia’s growing demand for digital expertise, the $11-billion Indian firm also formed an education ecosystem for providing learning opportunities.
“Of the 1,200 jobs, 40 per cent will be Australian university graduates from computer science and design. Academic partnerships will be strengthened to attract top graduate talent and ramp up skill building in the country,” the statement said.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | World
Jakarta : Indonesian President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) and Australian Prime Minister Scott Marrison reached an agreement on Indonesia-Australia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (IA-CEPA) at a meeting in Indonesia’s city of Bogor on Friday.
“At the meeting, I stated the Indonesian commitment to promoting bilateral relations between Indonesia and Australia. Australia is an important partner for ASEAN,” Jokowi said after the meeting at the Bogor Presidential Palace.
Jokowi and Morrison witnessed the signing of a joint declaration of IA-CEPA by Trade Minister Enggartiasto Lukito and Australian Minister for Trade and Investment Simon Birmingham and a memorandum of understanding (MoU) by Transport Minister Budi Karya Sumadi and Simon Birmingham.
“We welcome expansion of relations of comprehensive partnership into comprehensive strategic partnership,” President Jokowi said.
The two leaders also discussed and agreed on the importance of compliance with international law and respect for the sovereignty of each country.
“We also agree to cooperate and expand cooperation in security including in cybersecurity. We have a strong commitment to collaboration in handling global and regional issues including terrorism,” Jokowi said.
Indonesia is the first country visited by Morrison after he took over as new Australian prime minister on August 24, replacing Malcolm Turnbull.
—AB/UNA-OIC
