Here is a look at what is making news around the country today.
Today’s national news includes the Australian government raising concerns with the Israeli government over a minister’s “inflammatory” remarks about the Palestinian people and Australian Security Intelligence Organisation taking over issuing high-level security clearances. Also in the news is Australia’s February inflation slowing down to an 8-month low, Airports to aid in fighting the fall in numbers of travellers, and South Australia passing landmark legislation giving the Indigenous population a first ‘voice to Parliament’.
Nation
Asio to take over issuing high-level security clearances
Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (Asio) will take over issuing the highest-level security clearances in Australia in response to what the government calls “the unprecedented threat from espionage and foreign interference”, The Guardian has reported. Asio will be responsible for issuing, maintaining and revoking Australia’s highest level of security clearance, known as “positive vetting”. Home affairs minister Clare O’Neil said the reforms would “harden access to Australia’s most sensitive information, capabilities and secrets”.
Politics
Australia concerned about the Israeli minister’s remarks on Palestinians
The Australian government has raised concerns with the Israeli government over a minister’s “inflammatory” remarks about the Palestinian people, The Guardian has reported. Israel’s finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, has provoked outrage by saying there was “no such thing as a Palestinian people”, just weeks after he said the Palestinian town of Huwara in the West Bank should be “erased”. A source who did not wish to be named said Australia had conveyed concerns about Smotrich’s “inflammatory and irresponsible” comments in discussions with senior Israeli counterparts.
Economy
Australia’s February inflation slows to an 8-month low
Australian inflation slowed to an eight-month low in February, partly due to a sharp retreat in prices for holiday travel and accommodation, bolstering the case for a pause in interest rate hikes next month. The Australian Bureau of Statistics showed its monthly consumer price index (CPI) rose 6.8 per cent in the year to February, the slowest rise since June of last year. That compared with 7.4 per cent the previous month and market forecasts of 7.1 per cent. The monthly CPI index rose 0.2 per cent in February from January. Prices excluding volatile fruit, vegetables and fuel rose 6.9 per cent in the year to February, down from 7.5 per cent in January, Reuters has reported.
https://www.reuters.com/markets/australia-annual-inflation-slows-68-february-abs-2023-03-29/
Legislation
SA passes landmark legislation giving the Indigenous population a first ‘voice in Parliament
In a special sitting Sunday, the Parliament of the Australian state of South Australia passed the First Nations Voice Bill 2023, amending the state’s constitution to enable representatives elected by the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people of the state to directly address ministers and government departments on specific legislation and reforms which are of concern to them, the Jurist has reported. Elections to choose these representatives are to be held later this year.
Travel
Airports to aid in fighting fall in numbers of travellers
International arrivals at Australian airports remain down by about one million people compared to pre-pandemic numbers, prompting the boss of the Australian Airports Association to call on the federal government to work harder to attract global carriers to the country, the Sydney Morning Herald reported. The Australian Airports Association said the federal government needed to address the gaping hole in the international tourism market by re-evaluating the curfew at major airports, including Sydney and Adelaide, boosting the visibility of regional Australia, simplifying visa applications and coordinating the state-based aviation attraction funds.
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