Key Points
- Foreign Minister warns about foreign interference after Chinese national charged
- Australia to accept an additional 25,000 international students in 2026
- Melbourne Demons replace Simon Goodwin with Troy Chaplin
TRANSCRIPT
Foreign Minister Penny Wong says Australia won't tolerates its people being harassed or surveiled, after the AFP revealed a Chinese national has been charged with foreign interference.
The AFP alleges a Chinese woman gathered information about a Buddhist association in Canberra, for China's Public Security Bureau.
When asked by ABC if the case will impact Australia-China relations, Ms Wong says she won't comment on an individual case that is now before court, but she says the Albanese government will safeguard Australia's democracy.
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Australia's International Education Association has welcomed the government's increase to the international student cap, despite the caveat that more accommodation must be built.
Education Minister Jason Clare has announced an additional 25,000 students will be allowed to study in Australia next year.
Universities will be able to apply to have their individual caps increased, if they can prove they have sufficient student housing and are increasing their engagement with Southeast Asia.
Phillip Honeywood from the International Education Association of Australia says the sector has remained competitive because of global uncertainty.
"Australia's been very fortunate that other countries we compete against, particularly Canada, Donald Trump's USA now, and the UK are also winding back on international student recruitment. And therefore, when students are thinking which country to go and study at, they're obviously seeing that Australia is in many cases the least worst when it comes to their ability to access education."
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Neither the Labor or Liberal Party have formed government in Tasmania, more than a fortnight after a snap state election.
Both parties are short of the 18 seats required for a majority government, with the Liberal party securing 14 and Labor 10.
Incumbent Liberal Premier, Jeremy Rockliff, says he will ask the state governor to recommission his government this week, but is yet to detail which crossbenchers will support the minority.
Labor leader Dean Winters says the Liberals don't have the numbers.
"Tasmanian Labor, we'll be working across the Parliament, particularly with the independents, to try and make this Parliament work. Given the Premier's lack of activity, his lack of progress over the course of the last two weeks, Tasmanian Labor will be stepping up our engagement with the crossbench, in particular with the independents. We'll be meeting with independents and presenting with them formally our plan to make this new Parliament work to provide stability and confidence to Tasmanians and to make this Parliament last for four years."
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The union that represents mineral workers says it welcomes the $315 million rescue package for Nyrstar from the Federal, South Australian and Tasmanian governments, after the international metals’ producer struggled to maintain its operations in Port Pirie and Hobart.
Assistant Treasurer of the Australian Workers Union, Robert Flanagan, says many workers have been worried about Nyrstar's struggling performance.
"It's not unusual that in the resources sector to have peaks and troughs, and we have them before. But for the first time ever, we saw the company cut production by 25 per cent, which sent a very clear message to the workforce that this is not business as usual. We know that the company has struggle to be competitive particularly with the Chinese, the workforce is very much aware of that."
According to the Department of Industry Science and Resources, Nyrstar employs 1,400 Australians directly, while supporting 6,647 indirect jobs.
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Legal action has been filed in the Federal Court against Kmart alleging the Australian company has engaged in misleading and deceptive conduct over the labour force it uses in their supply chains.
The case brought by the Australian Uyghur Tangritagh Women’s Association further alleges the retailer has links to Uyghur forced labour.
The group is being legally represented by Maurice Blackburn and the Human Rights Law Centre.
Principal Lawyer at Maurice Blackburn, Jennifer Kanis says the case is the first of its kind, examining Australian retailers and the risk of Uyghur forced labour infecting their supply chains.
In a statement, Kmart says it defends its sourcing program, adding that regular monitoring is conducted through site visits and audit programs.
It says it is disappointed the legal action is proceeding after it spent more than 12 months communicating with law firm Maurice Blackburn over the details of its sourcing program.
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Now in sport, the Melbourne Demons has sacked Simon Goodwin, the club's only premiership-winning coach in the past six decades.
Troy Chaplin has been confirmed as the interim replacement.
Former Adelaide champion, Goodwin, took over from Paul Roos for the 2017 season, and led the Demons to their first premiership in 57 years.
But the 48-year-old has been let go, following just seven wins this season.
Goodwin also admits it's been a challenging year for the team.
"You know I think, any time you have to take some change whether it's personal or the way you play, you know, it's gonna take time. You know, you gonna have challenges, and there's no doubt throughout this year our performance have faced challenges, and I don't shy away from that. Some of them have been unacceptable, as what we saw a couple of weeks ago."
