Australian News
News from Australia and the world. Australia’s most trusted, independent source of news.
Percent of business jet flight increase this 2010
March 3, 2010, Australia – This 2010 the business jet travel are hoping to increase their business even there are some difficulty in economic sometimes…Continue
Biometric Data for Australian visa applicants
Australia March 1, 2010 – According to recent report the Australian Government has broadcasted the latest process for all the Australian visa applicants…Continue
Australian dollar increase a notch
February 24, 2010, Australia – The Australian dollars has recently gain their currency close one US cent higher, according to AEDT, the Australian dollar was trading at 90.07 US cents, up 1.12 per cent from Friday’s close of 89.03 cents from 5pm, then at exactly 7am the local unit traded between 89.89 US cents and 90.23 cents…Continue
Pressure on Australian dollar that hit the overseas
February 22, 2010, Australia – Draw back from last month the Australian dollar that has been hit the overseas earnings. Nevertheless the local equities and real estate markets has been grabbed their sits to stay and strong until last year…Continue
British Airways and American Airlines partnership approved
UK February 17, 2010 – The mergers between the British Airways with American Airlines have been approved by the US regulators and gave a signal to start their business with tourist visa UK…Continue
Applications to UK universities increased
UK, February 15, 2010 – Applications to UK universities have increased up to 23% on their student application even though it has been said that the university entrance is now more competitive than last year according to Ucas…Continue
The Changes to General Skilled Migration
Australia, February 10, 2010 – Changes have been settled from 8th of February, 2010 with the General Skilled Migraton…Continue
Employees lost their shifts because of under time
Australia February 8, 2010 – According to the newspaper The Australian report that most of the teenager employees and their employer, the Terang and District Co-operative, 210 kilometres south west of Melbourne have been set an arrangement and understanding that the following employees must work at least 1.5 hours after school…Continue
UK, February 3, 2010 – If you’re planning to visit a good place that doesn’t necessary take a lot of your savings then visit Florence in February. The flights are cheaper, if you want to hire a car it will not that pricey also…Continue
UK Economy recovering from recession this 2010
UK, February 2, 2010 – BBC news recently reported hat this year the UK economy have been recovering and now gradually increasing from the dent they have been experienced from the past year…Continue
Rudd positive thoughts on Australia day
Australia January 27, 2010 – The Prime Minister Kevin Rudd is undoubtedly positive and optimistic on what the Australian future holds. As they celebrate the Australia Day, Rudd is very confident that there will be good potential for most of the Aussies this year…Continue
Australian ambassador alerts for an attacks
Australia, January 25, 2010 – The non stop attacks of Indian nationals to Australian have becoming the most talked about news in the country today…Continue
Visa program to increase immigrants in Australia
Australia January 20, 2010 – The recent summary reports on the subclass 457 business (long stay) visa program expose the statistics made by the Department of Immigration and Citizenships…Continue
Australia, January 18, 2010 – Clive Palmer of the Outspoken Gold Coast United said a degrading comment about the government’s immigration policies as racist after of the people from Ghana who wants to migrate in the land down under was disqualified when he apply for the A-League club. However this issue of the united chairman was also disappointing to the Ghanian government…Continue
Refugees refuse to have a visa
Australia, January 13, 2010 – Tamil refugee recently refused to have a visa to stay in Australia; this has been reported from The Federal Government. Pressure have been gone from the Immigration Department, Wilson Tuckey the prompting outspoken Liberal backbencher said that the department need to relocate all the refugees to another country…Continue
Australia’s immigration detention centre illegal
Australia, January 12, 2010 – Lately the Amnesty immigrant co-ordinator, Graham Thom the Amnesty immigrant co-ordinator spent a week examining the Australian immigration centre, situated on Australia’s remote Indian Ocean Territory…Continue
Robbie Williams as Australian investors
Australia, January 6, 2010 – Australian Visa Bureau confirms that there had been a 25 per cent increase in Irish visa applications in 2009, also the Canadians boost almost up to 13 percents…Continue
Australia decline some student from India
Australia, January 4, 2010 – Students from India who applied between July and October last year have been accused on documentation fraud. The decisions came from the Australian authorities to decline the admission to one-third of the Indian students…Continue
December 29, 2009 Australia – ABC net reported that The Federal Government says it is in touch with US authorities to safeguard travel in Australia after a man tried to detonate an explosive on a flight to Detroit…Continue
Sri Lankan asylum seekers came to Australia
Sydney, December 21, 2009 – Recent news from Sydney Morning Herald stated that the first Oceanic Viking’s asylum seekers just arrive in Australia…Continue
Guidance on citizenship and Australian visa issues
Australia, December 16, 2009 – Global visas recently said that Australia’s Department of Immigration and Citizenship will provide an advice in regards with the visa issues…Continue
Results on Australian visa review
Australia, December 14, 2009 – Almost 10,000 overseas students from different country who are studying in Australia in order to secure the permanent residency, unfortunately they are sent home empty-handed under changes being considered by the Federal Government…Continue
Aussie Government rejects the visa for Korean artist
Australia, December 9, 2009 – Australian curator for the first exhibition of art commissioned from North Korea Mark Colvin has been accused the Federal Government of censorship…Continue
Security on Federal Government border security initiative
Australia, December 7, 2009 – The protection on visa applicants has recently announced by the Immigration Minister Chris Evans. As the report stated that in process on security people will be asked to conduct a digital scan of their faces and fingerprints. This is to secure and help Australia’s border added by Senator Evans as part of the visa assessment and processing…Continue
Australian Visa fine over Australian £60,000
Australia, December 2, 2009 – From BBC news that Crusader may have charged amounting to £60,000 with the irregularities on their visa that led to the UK Borders Agency that recently deported six of their Australia-born players…Continue
The importance of overseas students
Australia, December 1, 2009 – News from Sydney Morning Herald stated that education helped to prop up the NSW economy by generating $6.4 billion for the state in spite of revelations of shonky colleges and violent attacks on Indian students…Continue
The Changes in Australian Work Visa
Australia, November 25, 2009 – The changes in this working visa were introduced last September, to make sure that temporary foreign workers are not abused by their employers when working in Australia. In order to talk and speak to people in regards with this changes to almost 457 visa obligations. Recently the officers of Australian Immigration have broadcasted that they will visit the Pilbara region in Western Australia…Continue
Melbourne Politicians Calls for Cap on New Zealand Immigrants
Australia, November 23, 2009 – Labor Government MP Kelvin Thomson told a Melbourne newspaper that the number of New Zealanders immigrating to Australia has made it not possible to manage migrant numbers and preserve value of life…Continue
Australian Working Holiday Visas Process
Australia, November 18, 2009 – Report has been stated that the Australian Government centre which processes all Australian Working Holiday Visa applications, has out information that shows it is meeting government service standards of the Working Holiday Global Processing Centre…Continue
The Downfall of Indian Market According to Australia
Australia, November 16, 2009 – To resolve the increasing stress among Indian politicians parents alarmed by violent attacks against their offspring studying in Australia and the conclusion of more than a dozen training colleges in Melbourne and Sydney so far this year, threading almost 5,000 students. The Prime Minister Kevin Rudd held to India to try and resolve this…Continue
New assistance for Australian Student Visa applications
Australia, November 11, 2009 – Australian Student Visa who have been affected by the closure of any international educational institution will soon be offered measures to assist them by the Australian Government…Continue
Aussie returning to their homeland
Australia, November 9, 2009 – More and more Australian are coming back to their home in Australia on their extended working holidays in the UK. Numbers has been increased throughout the year in which Caroline Rafferty first noticed the trend at the start of the year when tough new changes to the UK’s Highly Skilled Migrant Visa laws came into effect…Continue
Visa Australia to phase out signature cards by 2013
Australia, November 4, 2009 -Seven pronged programme embarked on by Visa last year to improve payment system security in the country this move is part of a five year…Continue
Fake loans use to scam students to have their visa
Australia, October 26, 2009 – Forcing the cancellation of at least 500 applications from Indian nationals, it has been reported the falsified Indian bank and loan statements are being used to underwrite a people-smuggling operation centred on student visas…Continue
Australia changes visa rules to address skills shortage
Australia, October 21, 2009 – Professionals that will be fast-tracked through the Australian visa system to address skills shortages under new rules…Continue
Have your visa together with your Australian degree
Australia, October 19, 2009 – Almost 500,000 foreign students and annual revenues of 15 billion Australian dollars ($12 billion) are having their visa application approved together with their respective Australian degrees. Report stated that in Sydney Australia’s the Coupling paper qualifications with green cards has helped turn higher education sector into an industry bigger than tourism…Continue
Skilled workers are now immigrating to Australia
Australia, October 12, 2009 – Overseas workers from different country who emigrate to Australia are first located in Adelaide are later relocating to other larger Australian cities like Sydney and Melbource. South Australia has a unique program for workers who emigrate to Australia, but has been losing these valuable migrants to the bigger cities of Melbourne and Sydney…Continue
Student Visas – Australia Suspends 200 Visa Agents
Australia, October 7, 2009 – Almost 200 immigration agents from lodging student visa applications has been suspended by the Australian Government. It is been said that the suspensions have been issued due to confirmation of fraud, or poor visa approval rates…Continue
A beekeeper, not enough skills to earn visa
October 5, 2009 – Since having an apiarist work is not recognizable internationally, some workers that have been developed this skill are required to leave the country of Australia…Continue
Australia immigration SmartGate more accurate than border officer
October 1, 2009 – SmartGate Australian’s high-tech express passport system is considered more accurate in most cases than a border protection officer says university professor…Continue
Australian Visa Changes Cause Heartache
September 28, 2009 – Australian Department of Immigration and Citizenship announced changes in its priority processing for skilled visas. The changes concerns is a reshuffle of priority visa processing, meaning that those who were previously quite high up in the priority order, now find themselves near the bottom of the queue…Continue
Irish people fleeing recession find safe haven in Australia
Sydney, September 23, 2009 – SYDNEY LETTER: Unemployment remains steady at under 6 per cent, less than half the rate in Ireland…Continue
Online student visa: Australia suspends 200 agents
Australia, September 21, 2009 – Almost 200 agents operating in a number of countries from lodging student visa applications has been closed because of evidence of fraud or poor approval rates…Continue
Study, work opportunities in Australia made more accessible for Filipinos
September 14, 2009, MANILA, Philippines – An affordable, accessible and portable education pathway is available for Filipinos to study and be equipped to take advantage of work opportunities in Australia…Continue
Temporary Work Visa Holders to Australia Must Receive Fair Wages
September 9, 2009 – Senator Chris Evan, minister for Immigration & Citizenship Australia has recently announced a changes that will certain that temporary skilled workers receive salaries and wages similar to their Australian counterparts…Continue
Foreign workers to be paid at ‘market rates’ in Australia
Australia, September 7, 2009 – Foreign workers who are recently approved their working visa will have to be paid “market rates”under a further reduction of this that allows employers to bring in temporary skilled labour…Continue
Australia Meets Refugee Commitments
Australia, September 3, 2009 – Australia’s immigration department has already met its annual target for accepting refugees. For 2008 and 2009, it has already granted 13,507 Australian visas to refugees. This is a little over the original target of 13,500…Continue
Australia Lowers Visa Requirements for Athletes
Australia, September 2, 2009 – Changes to residency requirements for talented athletes were introduced yesterday lowering the required years for citizenship from four years down to two…Continue
Australia to Open Six New Autism Centres
September 1, 2009 – The Australian Federal Government is allotting AUD$3.2 million to open the first of six new specialist centres for children with autism spectrum Disorder. A centre has recently been opened in Prospect, Adelaide as part of the government’s commitment to deliver up to 260 new early learning and care centres in Australia. The six centres are part of the Government’s $190 million Helping Children with Autism package…Continue
Australia Gives Go Signal for $50 Billion LNG Project
Australia, August 27, 2009 – The AUD $50 billion Gorgon liquefied natural gas project just cleared its last major regulatory hurdle on Wednesday with the Australian environment ministry giving it the go signal…Continue
Australia, August 26, 2009 – Lowe’s Cos. Inc is planning to form a joint venture with Woolworth’s Ltd for a network of home improvement stores in Australia. The Mooresville-based company will have one-third stake in the chain…Continue
Australia to Share Biometrics Data with Canada and UK
Australia, August 25, 2009 – As part of the global push to enforce stricter border security and to eliminate identity fraud, Australia will be sharing fingerprints of immigration detainees with Britain and Canada…Continue
Universities Calling for Stricter Student Visa Rules
Australia, August 20, 2009 – There has been growing concern that students who apply for visa are using this primarily as a pathway to permanent residence instead of prioritizing their educational needs. Universities Australia (UA) are calling for the Australian Government to implement stricter rules with regards to vocational training…Continue
Government to Inject $7M for Indigenous Education
Western Australia, August 19, 2009 – Education Minister Julia Gillard announced today that the Federal Government will inject more than $7 million into education projects. The focus will be on the Kimberly region of Western Australia. The funding aims to close the gap between indigenous and non-indigenous student literacy and numeracy levels…Continue
New Australian Immigration Advisory Board Appointed
Australia, August 18, 2009 – Following the establishment of the new Office of the MARA last July 1, the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, Senator Chris Evans, announced this week the appointment of an advisory board. The board is comprised of representatives form the Migration Institute of Australia (MIA), the Law Council of Australia, community and consumer advocates…Continue
Decline in Temporary Overseas Workers Seen
Australia, August 13, 2009 – Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, Senator Chris Evans, recently released the State/Territory Summary Report for Subclass 457 Business (Long Stay) Visa for the financial year to June 2009. The report indicates that there has been a significant decline in the number of temporary skilled overseas workers entering Australia. The drop is attributed to the global economic slowdown and changes implemented by the government to ensure wages and working conditions are not undermined…Continue
Green IT Training Courses Launched
Australia, August 12, 2009 – Environmentally conscious Australian business can now be better educated on Green IT. Excom Education announced plans of launching the industry’s first Green IT training courses…Continue
South Australia Defies Trend of Youth Unemployment
South Australia, August 11, 2009 – The future looks bright for young local job seekers in South Australia. The Australian Bureau of Statistics recently released figures that state 8.4 percent of 15 to 19-year-olds in South Australia are looking for full-time work…Continue
Hugh Jackman Top Choice for Australian Tourism Ads
Australia, August 6, 2009 – The Roy Morgan poll asked tourism representatives to pick the next poster boy for Australia’s tourism ads and the answer is: Hugh Jackman. During the poll, respondents were not prompted with a list of suggestions…Continue
Malaysia-Australia to Enforce Stricter Measures Against Human Trafficking
Malaysia and Australia, August 5, 2009 – Malaysia and Australia have agreed to fight human trafficking to Australia using Malaysia as a transit country. Both countries will be holding working group meetings at the senior officer level…Continue
Number of Chinese and Indian Tourists in Australia Expected to Rise
Australia, August 4, 2009 – According to projections form the Tourism Forecasting Committee, visitors from China and India will soar over the next decade. 900,000 tourists per year are expected to arrive from China in 2018, up from 356,000 last year…Continue
New Home Sales in Australia Picking Up
Australia, July 30, 2009 – Sales of new homes in Australia continue to increase, continuing the positive trend for the first six months of the year…Continue
Australia’s Health System Set for Biggest Reform in 25 Years
Australia, July 29, 2009 – The Australian Government has unveiled its proposal for a total revamp of the nation’s health system. The final report drawn up by the National Health and Hospitals Reform Commission was released yesterday…Continue
AngloGold Considers Gold Mine Venture in Australia
Western Australia , July 28, 2009 – Africa’s largest gold producer, AngloGold Ashanti Ltd., is studying a $426 million (AUD $520 million) mine development in Western Australia. It plans to have a venture partnership with Independence Group NL….Continue
Australia’s Uluru and Barrier Reef in the Running for New Seven Wonders
Australia, July 23, 2009 – The Great Barrier Reef and Uluru (also known as Ayers Rock) have been shortlisted as part of the seven natural wonders of the world. It is in competition with other world-renowned tourist attractions such as the Amazon and Mount Vesuvius…Continue
Australia Plans Tougher Stance on Terrorism
Australia, July 22, 2009 – The Australian Government announced on Wednesday that it will be reviewing its counterterrorism laws. The new laws will give greater powers to police and intelligence agencies to stop fanatics from inciting violence based on race, religion or nationality…Continue
Homeowners Taking Advantage of Low Interest Rates
Australia, July 21, 2009 – More homeowners are trying to take advantage of the record low housing interest rates. According to Aussie Home Loans, there is a spike in the number of borrowers looking to refinance their mortgage…Continue
Harris Poll: Australia is Top Travel Destination
Australia, July 16, 2009 – The results of Harris Poll 2009’s survey for the Top 15 International Vacation Destination for Americans ranks Australia as the number one country. Assuming that cost is not a factor in the equation, the survey also shows that 96% of Americans would be willing to vacation outside the US…Continue
World’s Longest Golf Course to Open in Australia
Australia, July 15, 2009 – Tourists and travelers will have something new to look forward to in the coming years. The world’s longest golf course is scheduled to open in Australia this year. The golf course will be 1,365 kilometres long (848 miles) spanning 18 tows and service stations…Continue
Outsourcing Giant Expands Australian Staff
Australia, July 14, 2009 – Indian IT outsourcing giant Infosys plans to increase its workforce in Australia by 100 employees. The news came after the company was awarded the AUD $450 million application development and maintenance contract last week by telecom operator Telstra…Continue
Melbourne Pushing for Concession Fares for International Students
Melbourne, July 9, 2009 – A new welcome booth is now available at the Melbourne Airport for international students. It was during its launch yesterday that Lord Mayor Robert Doyle pushed for concession fares for international students on the city’s trains, buses and trams…Continue
Australian Campaign to Fight Poverty Launched
Australia, July 8, 2009 – Last night, a campaign urging global action on poverty was launched Melbourne. With over 1.4 billion people worldwide living on less than US$1 per day, the internal awarness campaign is expected to be taken on a world tour in a variety of languages. This project hopes to inspire governments commit to financial aid and the global audience in general to make a difference…Continue
1.3M Workers to be affected by Minimum Wage Decision
Australia, July 7, 2009 -The minimum wage decision still pending with the Fair Pay Commission is expected to impact 1.3 million low-paid workers. ACTU is calling for an increase that lift workers’ pay from $14.31 an hour….Continue
Government Launches Job Services Australia
Australia, July 2, 2009 – The Australian Government employment service Job Services Australia was launched July 1, 2009. It represents an investment of over $4.9 billion over the next three years. Designed as simpler, more personalised service, the project aims to meet the employment and recruitment requirements of both job seekers and employers…Continue
10,000 Indonesian Refugees Headed to Australia
Australia, July 1, 2009 – Indonesian authorities warned that Australia is the most likely destination for 10,000 of its refugees. According to reports, about 1,500 asylum seekers from Malaysia recently arrived in Indonesia by boat this year. Said refugees are using Malaysia as a staging point before they seek passage to Australia via Indonesia….Continue
Opera Australia has New Artistic Director
Australia, June 30, 2009 – Opera Australia has been assigned a new artistic director after a four-month international search. Lyndon Terracini, the CEO and artistic director of Major Brisbane Festivals, will take over the emptied position after the death of the controversial music director Richard Hicox last November…Continue
Tourism Queensland Wins Cannes International Advertising Festival Awards
Queensland, June 29, 2009 – Despite a limited budge of $1.7 million, Tourism Queensland has outperformed even those $40 million budget. Thanks to it “The Best Job in the World” advertising campaign, a new record has been set at the Cannes International Advertising Festival. Tourism queensland took home three Grand Prixs for public relations, direct advertising and cyber websites…Continue
Melbourne to Get Better Train System Operation
Melbourne, June 26, 2009 – The Brumby Government is promising more staff on stations, fewer cancelled trains and improved punctuality. The changes come as a new consortium has been appointed to manage and operate Melbourne’s train system for the next eight years…Continue
Increase in Internet Job Ads Continue
Australia, June 24, 2009 – Australia’s labour market continues to improve as jobs advertised on the internet show an increase. The ANZ national job ad series monitors advertisements in both newspapers and the internet. For January, it has noted that internet advertising has increased by 1.8% to 276,969, seasonally-adjusted…Continue
Sydney Town Square on Fast-track to Realization
Sydney, June 23, 2009 – The city of Sydney’s long-awaited town square may soon come to fruition. The Rees Government is pushing ahead with the CBD Metro project and is planning to purchase the buildings opposite Town Hall…Continue
Melbourne Fast-Becoming Preferred Tourist Site
Melbourne, June 22, 2009 – While Sydney is still in the running as one of Australia’s top city for internationals visiting Australia, other Australian destinations are also increasingly being favored by visitors. In a recent global study on livability of 140 cities, Sydney came ninth. Melbourne, on the other hand, now ranks third….Continue
Melbourne to Set for Urban Expansion
Melbourne, June 19, 2009 – Melbourne’s urban sprawl continues to grow and has now been given the go-ahead for another expansion. The urban are will be allowed to grow an additional 41,000 hectares. This would allow the city to accommodate 415,000 more people, exceeding Canberra’s current population….Continue
Better Health Infrastructure to be Expected in NSW
Australia, June 17, 2009 – Health Minister John Della Bosca plans on injecting more than $603 million to health infrastructure this year. Of that amount, 10 percent is expected to go to IT projects. Della Bosca says that the delivery of major IT initiatives to enhance patient services is a Government priority for the next four years…Continue
Government Stimulus Package to Help 80,000 Unemployed Australians
Australia, June 16, 2009 – Australia’s stimulus package is expected to put 80,000 long-term unemployed people back into the workforce over the next decade. The $52 billion stimulus pumped into the economy, raised economic growth by 2.75 percent in 2009-2010 and by 1.5 percent in 2010-2011. The budget is also projected to decrease the forecast jobless rate from 10 percent to 8.5 percent…Continue
Swine Flu Closes Down Two More Schools
Australia, June 15, 2009 – Two more schools in West Australia will close on Monday with reports of students contracting swine flu. The state currently has 66 cases with 17 more awaiting test results….Continue
Australia, June 11, 2009 – Last month, job losses were pegged at an astounding 26,600 full-time losses. Companies are retrenching and shedding jobs as the economic downturn continues. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, this pushed the unemployment rate up to 5.7 percent from 5.4 percent in April….Continue
Victorian Schools to Receive $1.4 Billion
Victoria, June 9, 2009 – Primary schools in Victoria are set to receive $1.4 billion for new libraries, halls and classrooms as part of the latest stimulus plan of the Government. Education Minister Julia Gillard says that 776 Victorian schools will benefit under the second round of funding for the primary schools…Continue
Coalition: Student Plan Unfair
June 8, 2009 – The Coalition says that the student plan is unfair and will be proposing amendments to the Federal Government’s overhaul of student income support. With the proposal, people who took gap years would become eligible and will still qualify for payments…Continue
Renters to be given a month’s grace from eviction
June 5, 2009 – Renters facing eviction in New South Wales will be give a “rent holiday.” They will have a month’s grace before they are evicted from their homes when banks repossess properties…Continue
Melbourne Building Sector Job Losses Up
Melbourne , June 3, 2009 – Melbourne’s commercial construction industry is experiencing the effects of the downturn with job losses up by 2000 in the past year. According to the industry’s redundancy payment fund IncoLink, the employment in the sector dropped significantly from 39,109 a year earlier to 37,133 this April…Continue
Aussie Jobs Safe despite GM Bankruptcy
Australia, June 2, 2009 – GM Holden Chief Executive Mark Reuss announced yesterday that the bankruptcy of parent company General Motors Corp. (GM) will not have a negative impact on Australian arm’s employees. He said that this is a positive opportunity to restructure and no job losses are planned for now…Continue
Unions campaign to slash executive salaries
Australia, June 1, 2009 – The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) will launch a campaign to urge the Federal Government to restrict executive base pay at 10 times the average wage of their full-time employees…Continue
ACTU Pushes for Unemployment Benefits Boost
Australia, May 29, 2009 – The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) is pushing for increased unemployment benefits in line with the big increase to the aged pension in last month’s federal budget…Continue
US tech firm expands, ads jobs in Victoria
Victoria, May 28, 2009 – NetApp, a California-based data storage provider, is planning on expanding its Melbourne office. According to the company, this move will add “at least” 68 new jobs to Victoria’s information and communications technology sector…Continue
Demand for Skilled Labour Decline
Australia, May 27, 2009 – Advertisement for skilled jobs dropped yet again in May. According to the index compiled by the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEWR), skilled vacancies slid by 7 percent in may following and 8.9 percent decline in April. This marks the 18th consecutive month of decline in the index. The year-on-year drop is now pegged at 62.6 percent…Continue
Unions Against Lift of Pension Eligibility
Australia, May 25, 2009 – Left-wing trade unions are not happy about Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s plan to lift the pension eligibility from 65 to 67…Continue
Melbourne Airport hits record number of passengers for April
Melbourne, May 22, 2009 – Despite the dismal numbers of global travelers, Melbourne Airport seems to enjoy a steady influx of international and domestic passengers. In fact, it has hit a record high in April with 8.8 percent increase in international passengers and 1.8 percent increase in domestic passengers. This is the airport’s best passenger figures for any month in the past financial year. A total of 420,089 passengers traveled through the airport last month…Continue
Victoria Teachers to be on Performance-based Pay
Victoria, May 21, 2009 – Good performance will paying off for teachers in Victoria. They are set to receive financial bonuses for raising the student’s results. This is part of the State Government’s move to inject performance-based pay into the education system before the next election…Continue
National Security Jobs Cut Due to Budget
Australia, May 20, 2009 – dreds of government jobs have been cut due to the recent budget. Customs, border protection and federal courts are the most affected sector. According to Shadow Attorney-General George Brandis 475 jobs have been slashed across departments that service national security and justice…Continue
Sydney Opera House Inspires French Architect
Sydney, May 19, 2009 – Roland Castro, one of France’s leading architects, has proposed a Sydney Opera House replica be built on the banks of the Seine to improve Paris’s outer suburbs. Castro is one of 10 artchitects commissioned by President Nicholas Sarkozy to come up with ideas to improve the capital…Continue
More than 43,000 Skilled Workers Unemployed
Australia, May 18, 2009 – Even skilled workers are finding it hard to come by jobs these days. More than 43,000 skilled labourers are currently unemployed during the opening months of 2009. This is the worst jobless ratio since 2001…Continue
Perisher Village Plan Given the Go Signal
May 15, 2009 – A plan for an 880-bed village to be built in the Snowy Mountains in NSW has just been approved. The government-approved deal would allow Perisher Blu ski resort to develop the $112 million site…Continue
Queensland, May 14, 2009 – Ben Southall, a young British adventurer, was named as the winner of the “best job in the world” competition. The $150,000/year job entails working as a caretaker of Hamilton Island in the Withsundays….Continue
$40 million Luxury Resort Planned in Hunter Valley
May 13, 2009 – Construction has started on a five-star luxury resort estimated to be worth $40 million. The destination spa and hotel will be built adjacent to The Vintage Golf Club at Rothbury…Continue
Unemployment decreasing in the outer suburbs
Melbourne, May 11, 2009 – Despite earlier predictions that the recession will hit the outer suburbs the worst, the numbers have shown a decrease in unemployment. In fact, it is Melbourne’s affluent inner suburbs that seem to be suffering more with the rise in unemployment at the end of last year…Continue
Telstra Appoints New Chief Executive
Australia, May 8, 2009 – David Thodey is slated to take the reigns as the Australian telecom group’s new chief executive. The internal candidate will be replacing Sol Trujillo who will be returning to his native US next month. Chairman Donald McGauchie is also stepping down and will be replaced by fellow board member Catherine Livingstone…Continue
Aussie Hotels Storm Expedia Top 1000
Australia, May 7, 2009 – While the nation’s tourism industry is generally feeling the pinch of the global economic downturn, Australian hotels are still gaining international recognition. According to global online travel website Expedia.com.au, Australia’s hotels have quadrupled in presence in the site’s Top 1000 list over last year…Continue
Rudd: Australia’s Debt will be Lowest in the World
Sydney, May 6, 2009 – Prime Minister Kevin Rudd is up for a challenge. He told reports in Sydney on Wednesday that “Australia’s net debt will be the lowest of any major advanced economy in the world for the next decade.” Rudd welcomes a debate on debt and deficit following revelations that the federal budget deficit for the next financial year will be around $70 billion…Continue
Australia Falling Behind on Early Childhood Test
Australia, May 5, 2009 – Australia fails the early childhood test conducted by Save the Children. The country currently ranks third of last of the 25 test takers…Continue
Melbourne experiences chilliest April in 56 years
Melbourne, April 30 – The cold has reached its peak in Melbourne. At 2.9 degrees Celsius at 6:35am, it is recorded as the chilliest April morning in the last 56 years….Continue
Canberra Rail Trail Gets $13M Funding
Victoria, April 29 – Part of Victoria’s bushfire-affected area will be receiving funding from the $800 million community infrastructure stimulus. The Goulburn River High Country Rail Trail will be getting $13.2 million from the Federal Government…Continue
Rise in Unemployment Results in More Home Loss
Victoria, April 28 – More people are losing their homes with the rise of job losses. Court figures in Victoria show a 30 percent rise in claims lodge in the first quarter of 2009, compared to the same period last year….Continue
Government Funding Not Being Evaluated Properly
April 27 – The effectiveness of Government programs worth $1.2 billion in taxpayer money are not being properly checked. The amount has been spent on mental health, disability programs and child protection without the State Government assessing if they provide value for money….Continue
Melbourne’s Population Set to Grow to 4 Million
Melbourne, April 24 – Pressure grows as the population in Melbourne continues to rise. The growth of the area is at a scale never before seen in Australia. It swelled by almost 150,000 people in the last two year…Continue
Australian Inflation Rate Slows
Australia, April 22 – Australia’s annual inflation rate slowed in the first quarter during the country’s first recession in almost two decades. It is currently at its weakest pace in the last 18 months….Continue
Rudd: Australia recession inevitable
Australia, April 21 – Last Monday, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd conceded for the first time that Australia is heading for a recession. He announced that it is inevitable given the current global downturn…Continue
Credit Card Debt Reach Record Numbers
Australia, April 20 – Credit card debts are at their highest ever reaching a total of $45.5 billion. Bad news for the banks: Australians are making less repayments….Continue
Victorian Child-care Centres to Close Next Month
Victoria, April 16 – ABC Learning Centres will be shutting down their operations next month, leaving almost 300 Victorian families no choice but to move their children elsewhere….Continue
Brisbane’s Airport Expansion Deferred
Brisbane, April 15 – Expansions set for Brisbane airport have been put on hold as the tourism market plunges. Construction worth $700 million on domestic expansion and $1billion on a parallel runway were originally schedule for completion by 2015. But now, all plans have been pushed back by several years…Continue
Schindler’s List Found in Australia
Australia, April 13 – Oskar Schindler was popularized by the 1993 biographical film by Steven Spielberg. It tells the story of a German businessman who saved the lives of 1,200 of Jews during the holocaust. It is based on the Thomas Keneally novel entitled Schindler’s Ark…Continue
Government Unveils $43B Broadband Plan
Australia, April 8 – In a surprise move Tuesday, the Australian Government announced its plans to back a $43 billion national high speed broadband network investment. Rudd’s Labor Government said that it will set up a majority-owned private company to build the fiber-to-premise network..Continue
Melbourne to Open First Stem Cell Bank
Australia, April 7 – Australia’s first dedicated stem cell bank is set to open in July in Melbourne. It is expected to start providing stem cells for medical and research purposes by the end of the year… Continue
Australian Banks to Help Jobless with Mortgage
Australia, April 6 – Australia’s four biggest banks will give people who have lost their job up to a year free of mortgage repayments. Home loan sector leaders Commonwealth Bank of Australia, National Australia Bank, Westpac Banking Corp. and the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. will participate in the program….. Continue
Power lines Down Due to Wild Winds
Australia, April 2 – Gale-force winds have caused power outages in Brisbane’s southern and western suburbs this morning. The winds are a result of strong surface trough moving north coming from NWS. Moving at 80 kilometres an hour, it has already brought down power lines in Algester, Calamvale and Sunnybank….. Continue
Australia, April1 – Sydney’s inner west area lost power at about 6:30am (AEDT) after being hit by heavy rains. Approximately 3,000 homes and businesses in Camperdown and Glebe experienced a power cutoff……… Continue
$7M Stimulus Cheques Still on Hold
Australia, March 31 – More than $7 million stimulus package cheques are being held after the High Court challenge puts the tax office into a holding pattern. Payments to 7.4 million Australians are due to be sent out April 6, but the High Court still has not made a decision on the challenge brought by law lecturer Bryan Pape……. Continue
Strike Causes Major Delays in Australian Airports
Australia, March 30 – Terminals across Australia are experiencing major delays as Qantas employees go on strike. The situation is evident in domestic terminals in Brisbane, Sydney, Adelaide and Perth as well as in international terminals in Sydney in Brisbane.
The airline’s baggage handlers, cleaners and caterers went on strike at 9am (AEST). The strike is seen to last until 1pm (AEDT), while the Qantas is docking the workers’ pay. ……. Continue
Housing Shortage in Sydney A Reality
Sydney, March 27 – Sydney is currently at its lowest housing construction rate in 50 years. According to the Daily Telegraph more homes are set to be built in Adelaide than in Sydney in 2009. Despite the population growth of Australia’s biggest city, reports show that only 7,300 new houses will be built this year. This number is alarmingly less than previous years, and is roughly only a third of the figure in 2003…….. Continue
Credit Card Fraud up 50 percent
March 26 (The Age.com.au) – As the economic downturn continues, more unfortunate news unfolds. Credit card fraud on online, phone and mail transactions has increased by about 50 percent over last year, says the Reserve Bank……. Continue
Bankruptcy Up for Australian Middle Class
Australia, March 24-Bankruptcy cases have erupted to 12% in the past year, triple of last year’s numbers. According to a professor at the University of Melbourne, debt stress is consistently becoming a mainstream problem…….. Continue
Rescuers Race to Save 80 Stranded Whales
Australia, March 23-Margaret River in Western Australia is a devastating scene as rescuers are battling to save a pod of 80 false killer whales and some bottlenose dolphins that have beached themselves. The frantic environment officers only have a few hours to save the 25 mammals that are still alive……….. Continue
New Car Sales Drop as Recession Continues
According to the recently released figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, Australians are either abandoning their cars or opting for cheaper alternatives. Sales for new vehicles declined 3.5 percent in February down to 73, 190 units from 75, 879 in January………. Continue
Australians to Pay Travel Tax in UK
Australian travelers to the UK under an student or work visa may soon have to pay migrant tax. The Minister is expected to announce the details of the fee within the week…….. Continue
Australia Cutting Back Skilled Migrant Entry
This year, the influx of skilled migrant will be significantly reduced with the recently announced cut backs. Over the next three months, 18,500 or 14 percent of the annual intake will be slashed to protect local jobs……. Continue
Australian Dollar Jump to Highest in One Month
With the US stocks posting the biggest three-day gain since November, the currency is following suit with an increase in value. The Australian Dollar is on its second straight weekly rise…… Continue
Unemployment Rate Climbs to 5.2%
The economic slump has deteriorated the employment situation in Australia. Unemployment rate is now at 5.2% after the biggest monthly drop in full-time jobs since 1991…….. Continue
Increased housing finance bolsters first-home buyers market
First-time home buyers are rushing to market to take advantage of the federal government’s increased grant scheme. According the Australian Bureau of statistics, first-home buyers comprised 26.5% of loans granted for owner-occupied homes. January numbers were the highest recorded since 1991. It follows the same positive trend as the last three months, growing 3.5% month-on-month with a total of 55,628 loans financed. Total housing finance value increased by 0.7% amounting to $18.88 billion…….. Continue
Decrease in job ads maybe indicative of unemployment problems
Recruitment hit a new low in February as employers freeze hire and start implementing redundancy and retrenchment programs. The Australian Bureau of Statistics is planning to release unemployment figures for February. According to the report, economists are expecting the unemployment rate to rise from 4.8 percent in January to 5%. This would be the highest jobless rate since April 2006…. Continue
Breaking into the Australian Market with a Business Visa
Diversify your business portfolio by investing in an Australian-based business. Australia has several options to let you do just that. For a business visit — such as attending a conference or training session, opening negotiations, exploratory business visit – all you would need is an Australia visa for up to three months. There are 5 business-purpose visas to choose from: ETA (Business Entrant), eVisitor, Business Short Stay (Subclass 456), Sponsored Business Visitor (Subclass 459) and the APEC Business Travel Card. …Continue
Banks to Collect More than $5 Billion in Fees in 2009
In an effort to survive the global economic crisis, Australian banks are hoping to haul in more than $5 billion in fees.
Research firm Fujitsu Consulting recently released its annual bank fee benchmark report which shows that Australian household pay 22% more in bank fees than those in the UK and 11% more than US households. On average, Australian households pay close to $1000 in fees each year while British households only fork over $749 and those in the US only $850…Continue
Billion-dollar project launched in Brisbane
Mar 3, 2009 (AAP) — Southeast Queensland will be home to one of the largest development projects amounting to $1 billion. Brisbane’s Watefront will have its groundbreaking at 10am today (AEST). Lord Mayor Campbell Newman will join Mirvac, the developer of the initial $350 million residential stage in turning the first sod…Continue
Australian Skilled Job Vacancies Decline by 11%
Feb 25, (AAP) – Australian Job Vacancies for Skilled Workers has declined by 11% in February compared to January, based on data released by DEEWR. Read more..
Victoria’s bushfires death toll has reached 210
Victoria, Feb 23 – Victoria’s bushfires death toll has reached 210, as fresh fires continue to plague firefighters. This figure is up from the tally of 209 police released on Friday. Read more..
Australian Immigration to be Cut as Economy Slows
CANBERRA, Feb 23 (Reuters) – Australian Immigration will be cut for the first time in eight years due to its slowing economy and abruptly fall down of its labor demand, Chris Evans, Australian Immigration Minister said on Monday. Read more..
Victoria bushfire death toll rises to 209
SYDNEY, Feb 20 – The death toll in the worst wildfires in Australia’s history has risen to 209, according to police. Read more..
Australia, Indonesia conducted FTA to Strengthen Bilateral Trade
MELBOURNE, Feb 19 (Bernama) — Simon Crean, Australia’s Trade Minister and his Indonesian counterpart Mari E.Pangestu, conducted Free Trade Agreement last Thursday in Sydney to strengthen the bilateral trade and investment relationship. Read more..
Battling Victorian bushfires, Firefighter killed
Victoria, Feb 17, 2009 A firefighter from Canberra has died after being hit by a falling tree near Marysville, north-east of Melbourne.
Police say the man was travelling in a fire tanker when the accident happened.
