Here is a look at what is making news around the country today.
Today’s national news includes Australia’s population growth hitting a 15-year high, Chevron Australia plant shuts 25 per cent of output, Australia toughening laws on ex-military staff who train foreign armies, and Australia removing all COVID-19 restrictions for cruise ships.
Nation
Population growth hits 15-year high
High overseas migration has driven Australia’s rate of population growth to its highest level in 15 years. Australian Bureau of Statistics data revealed that the country’s population grew by 2.17 per cent in the 12 months to the end of March to 26.47 million people, News Today reported. It marked the highest annual growth rate since the population grew by 2.19 per cent in the 12 months to the end of December 2008. ABS data showed that 681,000 migrants arrived in Australia in the year to March 2023, an increase of 103 per cent from the previous year.
https://newstodaynet.com/2023/09/15/australias-population-growth-hits-15-year-high/
Business
Chevron Australia plant shuts 25 per cent of output
A fault at Chevron’s Wheatstone facility in Australia temporarily shut about a quarter of its liquefied natural gas (LNG) production on the same day that unionised workers escalated strike action, Reuters has reported. The cause of the problem had been identified and the company was working to resume full production. It was not immediately clear if the fault was related to the strikes, which began six days ago at Wheatstone and Chevron’s other Australian LNG facility, Gorgon after talks between the company and unions over wages and work conditions broke down.
Defence
Australia to toughen laws on ex-military staff who train foreign armies
The Australian government has proposed tougher restrictions on former defence personnel who want to train “certain foreign militaries” as the nation prepares to share nuclear secrets with the United States and Britain, Aljazeera reported. A series of cases in which former military pilots living in Australia had worked for a South African flight school training Chinese pilots who the US alleges are Chinese military pilots has prompted the crackdown. A parliamentary committee will scrutinise the draft legislation and report on it before a final draft becomes law.
Travel
Australia removes Covid-19 restrictions for cruise ships
Australia has ditched all COVID-19 restrictions for cruise ships, including having to show a negative RAT test when checking in, Escape.com has reported. Australia’s chief medical officer Paul Kelly said measures had been removed at the federal level after a decision by the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee (AHPPC). Other countries have already done away with the measures. Cruise lines such as Carnival, P&O Cruises and Princess Cruises have welcomed the change, all noting that the health and safety of guests and crew remains a top priority and that they will be maintaining prevention and control protocols across the fleet.
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