ASIO WARNS ON AUKUS THREAT; RATES CAUTION

AUKUS a target for interference, cyber-sabotage, security chief warns

Australia’s leading security official has warned that the nation’s defence is facing escalated threats from espionage, foreign interference and potential sabotage as the AUKUS project develops. Director-General of Security, Mike Burgess, says multiple countries are relentlessly seeking information about Australia’s military capabilities, with Defence personnel being targeted in person and online. In his Annual Threat Assessment, Mr Burgess said that by 2030, as the submarine project matured, intelligence services were more likely to focus on foreign interference to undermine community support for the submarine enterprise, and potentially sabotage if regional tensions escalated. Cyber-enabled sabotage, rather than physical sabotage, remained the most acute concern for Australia, the Director-General said.

RBA cautious on further interest rate cuts

Australia’s central bank has warned against further easing of monetary policy that would imperil the mission to drive down inflation. The Reserve Bank of Australia, in its Statement on Monetary Policy, said that disinflation could stall if monetary policy was eased too much too soon, and cautioned about the immediate economic outlook. Announcing a reduction in the cash rate from 4.35 per cent to 4.1 per cent, the RBA said the labour market remained tight and productivity growth had not picked up. It reaffirmed that core inflation – recorded at 3.2 per cent in the December 2024 quarter – was moving towards the RBA’s target range of 2-3 per cent.

Wage rises moderate, jobless rate edges up

Meanwhile, wage increases have continued to moderate in Australia, with the wage price index rising annually by 3.2 per cent in the December quarter, continuing a downward trend since a peak of 4.2 per cent in December 2023. The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) reported that private sector wages rose annually by 3.3 per cent, seasonally adjusted, over the past 12 months, while public sector wages rose by 2.8 per cent. Separately, the ABS also reported that the monthly rate of unemployment edged up in January, from four per cent in December to 4.1 per cent, seasonally adjusted, i. Across the nation, however, the unemployment rate varied from 3.2 per cent, seasonally adjusted, in the Australian Capital Territory, to 4.7 per cent in Victoria.

Port of Darwin lease under consideration, says Marles

Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Richard Marles says the 99-year lease of the Port of Darwin to a Chinese-owned company remains “under consideration”, In a media interview in the Northern Territory, Mr Marles said the Federal Government looked “very carefully” at investments in Australia in terms of security implications. The Deputy PM said that Labor opposed the lease when in opposition. He added that while it was important to look at significant foreign investment through the lens of national security, it was also important that decisions did not give rise to sovereign risk. Mr Marles said that Australians lived in a strategic environment that was as complex, in some ways as threatening, as seen since World War 2.

Labor announces funding and relief for health, wine and steel sectors

With a Federal Election imminent, the Albanese Government has gone into campaign mode with a series of funding announcements, headed by a $8.5 billion pledge to expand Medicare. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Mark Butler said that a re-elected Labor Government would fund an additional 18 million bulk-billed GP visits a year, and “hundreds of nursing scholarships and thousands more doctors.” In addition, the Government has announced a package of tax relief for Australia’s distillers, brewers and wine producers. Under the changes, the excise remission cap for eligible alcohol manufacturers would be increased to $400,000, while the wine equalisation tax producer rebate would also be lifted to $400,000. Meanwhile, the Government has also announced a $500 million package for Australian steelmakers and manufacturers to lift local content for wind and clean energy projects.

Farm production values jump on higher productivity, export demand

Australia’s gross value of agricultural production reached $82.4 billion in 2023-24, its third highest on record, according to a national report. A report by the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES) found that around 70 per cent of the total value of agricultural, fisheries and forest production was exported. Livestock and livestock products accounted for 39 per cent of production by value, followed by crops, on 35 per cent. ABARES said that the gross value of agricultural production had increased by 34 per cent (in real terms) in the last 20 years, attributed in part to improved crop productivity and for livestock, higher demand for protein in emerging countries.