New warning over Great Barrier Reef

Earlier this week UNESCO'S World Heritage Centre - the committee charged with protecting the world's most precious and natural sites - sounded a dire warning to Australia's Great Barrier Reef.
The centre's announced if the federal and Queensland governments don't take drastic measures to protect the site, it would be at risk of falling onto the 'in danger' list, after multiple bleaching events in the past decade.

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News.com.au

3 hours ago

• News.com.au

NSW government to launch new authority fast-tracking big business projects

The NSW government is launching a new authority to fast-track major projects and an $80m funding package, as the state gears up for a new wave of investment and innovation. The government will invest $17.7m to establish the Investment Delivery Authority - modelled on the Housing Delivery Authority - to accelerate approvals for major projects and attract investment across sectors such as technology and energy. Businesses have raised concerns about lengthy and complex approval processes, which the government says has hampered productivity and discouraged investment. The new authority is expected to assist around 30 large-scale projects annually and help unlock up to $50bn in investment each year. Premier Chris Minns said major projects from the private sector were 'getting bogged down in red tape', making it harder to do business in NSW. 'Our state is open for business and this change will encourage more people to bring their best ideas to life in NSW, all backed by our government,' Mr Minns said. Treasurer Daniel Mookhey said the authority would streamline processes and clear bottlenecks. 'We have listened to what we are being told, loud and clear: everything in NSW is awesome, except for how long it takes to get major projects done,' Mr Mookhey said. 'We are creating a way to address the blockages, speed up the process and ensure NSW is properly open for business.' The Investment Delivery Authority will accept expressions of interest from domestic and international investment projects valued at more than $1bn. It will be supported by an investment taskforce within Investment NSW under the premier's department. Its leadership team will include senior public servants from the premier's department, treasury, planning, housing and infrastructure, and Infrastructure NSW. The authority will make recommendations to the treasurer, the planning minister and the minister for industry and trade. Planning Minister Paul Scully said the reforms were a key step toward lifting productivity. 'The Investment Delivery Authority, supported by the Investment Taskforce, will identify and clear barriers that businesses may face, while advising on reforms that promote investment, competition and productivity in NSW,' Mr Scully said. In tandem with the new authority, the government is investing nearly $80m in a wide-ranging innovation funding package to support startups, scale-ups and emerging technologies under the newly launched Innovation Blueprint. 'NSW is not just open for business, it's serious about being a global leader in innovation, industry, and investment,' Mr Minns said. The largest slice of the funding is $38.5m to support Tech Central, followed by $20m for commercialising emerging technologies, particularly in housing and energy. The remaining funding has been split across several areas, including $6m to help manufacturers adopt innovative technologies and $4m each for housing construction innovation and supporting female and regional tech founders. Industry and Trade Minister Anoulack Chanthivong said the investment would help nurture the next generation of tech giants. 'With this nearly $80 million of funding, we will ensure we nurture, grow, and support the next Afterpay, Atlassian, and Canva from the early stages through to the most vulnerable periods of a startup's life cycle,' Mr Chanthivong said. Kate Pounder, former Tech Council of Australia Chair, welcomed the commitment to diversity and regional inclusion. 'This significant investment in innovation will cement NSW as a world leader in the tech sector,' Ms Pounder said. 'Most hearteningly, this money will also go where it is needed most, to female founders, and those from diverse cultures and backgrounds, as well as our budding tech giants living and working in Western Sydney and regional NSW.' Business NSW CEO Daniel Hunter described the changes as 'game-changing'. 'With a clear plan to streamline approvals and coordinate government agencies, the new Investment Delivery Authority is exactly what NSW needs to turn ambition into action,' he said.

ABC News

12 hours ago

• ABC News

Australian government calls for de-escalation of war in Iran as Coalition endorses US strikes

The Australian government has offered no endorsement of the United States' strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, instead issuing a statement reiterating calls for de-escalation as the opposition put forward its support for the military action. Donald Trump announced the United States had dropped "a full payload of bombs" on the Fordow nuclear site on Sunday, along with strikes on two other locations, declaring Iran's nuclear enrichment facilities "completely and totally obliterated". In response, a government spokesperson said: "We have been clear that Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile program has been a threat to international peace and security. "We note the US president's statement that now is the time for peace. The security situation in the region is highly volatile. We continue to call for de-escalation, dialogue, and diplomacy." A short time after the government released its statement, Opposition Leader Sussan Ley and acting Shadow Foreign Minister Andrew Hastie said the Coalition supported Mr Trump's "proactive action" to bomb the facilities, more than a week after Israel launched an attack on Iran. "The world can never accept a nuclear-armed Iranian regime, and today the United States military has taken proactive action to ensure that we never need to," they said in a statement. "While Australians will never seek conflict in the world, we can never forget that the Iranian regime is a militantly theocratic autocracy … It is the Iranian people who are the victims of this brutal regime and we stand in solidarity with them." Current and former Liberal politicians were also quick to offer their strong support for the strikes, calling on the government to do the same. Former prime minister Scott Morrison said Mr Trump was left with no other option given the risks of Iran's nuclear program, while Liberal Senator Dave Sharma told Sky News it was "essential that Australia supports what the United States has done". Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is yet to respond to the developments personally. Earlier on Sunday, before Mr Trump announced the strikes, Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles said the government's position was de-escalation while noting it recognised Israel's right to defend itself and the risk of Iran's nuclear program. "We are worried about the prospect for escalation here, and we have been urging de-escalation, dialogue, and diplomacy, and we continue to do that," he told Sky News. In an address to the nation late on Saturday night, local time, Mr Trump described the action as a "spectacular military success", while a spokesperson for Iran's nuclear organisation told state media the Fordow site experienced limited damage. The extent of the damage is yet to be independently assessed. Mr Trump later posted to Truth Social — a social media platform — that any Iranian retaliation on the United States would be "met with a force far greater than what was witnessed tonight". Early on Sunday, Mr Hastie, who is also a veteran, warned that any escalation of the war was "dangerous and risky" and could bring unintended consequences. Speaking to ABC's Insiders minutes before Mr Trump announced the attack, he said: "We could see regime change, a collapse of the Iranian regime, large-scale migration and refugees across the world, but particularly Europe. We don't know who would fill the power vacuum." "If there is one lesson I take out of Iraq, Afghanistan, and Libya, it's be careful what you wish for." He also said there needed to be greater transparency over how the United States uses Australian military bases, calling on the government to be clear about what the military alliance involves. Mr Marles this week did not say whether American forces could make use of Australian military bases in the north in an action against Iran, stating "we have a system of full knowledge and concurrence" of operations from Australia. "We need greater transparency, to talk about operationalising the alliance, building guard rails for combat operations and defining our sovereignty," Mr Hastie said. "This will make things clearer for us, so we can better preserve our national interests." Greens leader Larissa Waters said in a statement that the government "must not allow the use of Australian US military bases like Pine Gap in this conflict". "Australia must always work for peace and de-escalation. Australia is not powerless, and we cannot be involved in another brutal war in the Middle East," she said. "Only when countries like Australia push back and hold to principles and international law and back them up with material actions, will there be a chance for peace."

News.com.au

13 hours ago

• News.com.au

Scott Morrison says Albanese government not showing enough 'clarity' on Israel-Iran conflict

Former prime minister Scott Morrison has accused the Albanese Labor government of not showing enough 'clarity' on the Israel-Iran conflict. Speaking on Sky News on Sunday, Mr Morrison urged Labor to back the United States' attack on Iran's nuclear sites, after Donald Trump deployed a series of strikes on the country's three nuclear sites in Fordow, Natanz and Esfahan. 'I think there's been far too much ambiguity about this from Australia, far too much ambiguity, and it's time for clarity,' Mr Morrison said. 'And the clarity is we were dealing with a theocratic authoritarian state that had sponsored an attack on close friends in Israel back on the seventh of October, and they have shown their true colours, and Iran is not a friend of Australia. It's not a friend of Australia's interests. 'We should be expressing no ambiguity when it comes to Iran.' Following Mr Trump's confirmation of the strikes, a government spokesperson said Labor has noted Mr Trump's statements, and reiterated the President's comments that 'now is the time for peace'. 'We have been clear that Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile program has been a threat to international peace and security,' they said. 'The security situation in the region is highly volatile. 'We continue to call for de-escalation, dialogue and diplomacy.' They also urged the 2600 Australians in Iran and 1200 in Israel to monitor public safety information by local authorities and 'shelter in place when required'. 'The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade will be communicating directly with registered Australians about preparations for assisted departures,' they said. Mr Morrison gave his firm backing of Mr Trump's decision to strike the three Iranian nuclear bases, saying the US were the 'only ones who could do it'. He said the move was done not to 'oppose some sort of regime change', but to end the threat of Iran's nuclear programs, and were 'totally justified given the threat that was faced'. 'This has been the most decisive and the most comprehensive action to terminate that threat,' Mr Morrison told Sky. 'This is not the place that President Trump would rather be. He has not rushed towards this and further, this is not about the US trying to oppose some sort of regime change, they have a very specific job here that they have undertaken.' In the wake of the strikes, Mr Trump urged the Iranian regime to 'make peace' or risk 'greater' and 'easier' attacks. 'There will be either peace or there will be tragedy for Iran, far greater than we have witnessed over the last eight days,' he said. 'Remember, there are many targets left. Tonight's was the most difficult of them all by far, and perhaps the most lethal. 'But if peace does not come quickly, we will go after those other targets with precision, speed and skill. 'Most of them can be taken out in a matter of minutes.' Earlier on Sunday, Defence Minister Richard Marles said the government remained concerned about the prospect of escalation and continued calls for dialogue, denying claims the government was trying to distance itself from the US. However he acknowledged Israel's 'right to defend itself', and the 'risk that the Iranian nuclear and ballistic missile program represents to both the region and the stability of the world'. He said the Department of Foreign Affairs remained alert in trying to evacuate the thousands of Australians caught in Iran and Israel. 'We do have civilian aircraft chartered ready to go in the event that airspace opens up over Iran and Israel, and right now that is the biggest constraint here, that both airspace over both countries is closed,' he said. 'We have a C-17 and a KC-30 which both can take hundreds of passengers placed in Al Minhad (in the United Arab Emirates), which is just outside of Dubai.' Mr Marles said the staff at Al Minhad had been increased from 'about 40, to 'about 300'. Greens Leader Larissa Waters said the US strikes on Iran were a 'terrifying and catastrophic escalation by the USA,' and called on Mr Albanese to condemn the actions. 'From Iraq to Afghanistan, we have seen Australia follow the US into devastating and brutal wars that have done untold damage to the people of the Middle East. We know that you cannot bomb your way to peace,' she said. Greens defence and foreign affairs spokesman David Shoebridge said Australia should distance itself from the US' actions, including withdrawing from the AUKUS defence pact. 'That means ending the AUKUS agreement, prohibiting the use of US military bases in Australia, including Pine Gap, from being used in this conflict, and clearly opposing military action by the US and Israel against Iran,' he said. 'Like every war, the cost will not be carried by governments, but by people, families and communities who face destruction. 'The impact of war is always inflicted on ordinary people. The Iranian people, who currently face oppression under the Iranian regime, are only put at further risk of violence and persecution by these US and Israeli attacks.'