Posted
Western Australian based live animal exporter Wellard has reported a higher than normal death rate aboard one of its ships, triggering an automatic investigation by the Federal Department of Agriculture.
Topics: sheep-production, livestock-welfare, beef-cattle, sea-transport, federal-government, fremantle-6160
Posted
| UpdatedWest Australian farmers say they feel excluded from the Prime Minister's current discussions about the impact of the drought.
Topics: drought, agricultural-policy, grain, federal-government, wa
Posted
As the jobs of the past disappear across Australia, there is little comfort to be taken from the Prime Minister's vision for the jobs of the future ... in road construction.
Topics: unemployment, federal-government
Posted
| UpdatedThe Federal Government has announced a review of the Renewable Energy Target (RET) in keeping with legislation and a pre-election promise.
Topics: mining-rural, alternative-energy, mining-industry, mining-environmental-issues, environmental-policy, federal-government, perth-6000
Posted
For all its talk of reducing welfare and entitlements, the Federal Government continues to prop up non-viable businesses while treating politician and executive pay as off limits.
Topics: federal-government, welfare, industrial-relations
Posted
Refugee advocates say the Government's decision to send 10 unaccompanied children to a detention centre on Nauru has put the children at serious risk of mental health issues.
Topics: immigration, refugees, children, federal-government, mental-health, nauru, australia
Posted
| UpdatedTensions at the Manus Island detention centre erupted into a violent breakout last night, after asylum seekers were told their only option for resettlement was to live in Papua New Guinea.
Thirty-five asylum seekers escaped from the centre through a fence about 6:15pm (local time) but Immigration Minister Scott Morrison says they were quickly recaptured.
Mr Morrison says all "non-essential staff" were evacuated, several internal fences were knocked down, safety-glass panels were smashed, bunk beds were "broken apart" and the pieces used as weapons and thrown.
Eight asylum seekers have been arrested and 19 have been treated at the centre's medical clinic, but Mr Morrison says none of the patients are "exhibiting life-threatening conditions".
Topics: refugees, immigration, community-and-society, federal-government, government-and-politics, papua-new-guinea
Posted
| UpdatedA New South Wales Federal MP says priority should be given to business as the fast broadband network is rolled out across her Central Coast electorate.
Topics: telecommunications, federal-government, wyong-2259, tuggerah-2259
Posted
The main public sector union is hailing as a victory, a Federal Government decision to keep dozens of IT jobs in Tasmania.
Topics: federal-government, unions, public-sector, tas
Posted
| UpdatedAgriculture industry groups want the Federal Government to move quickly to ratify a free trade agreement with South Korea, now that the details of the deal have been revealed.
Topics: trade, agreements-and-treaties, federal-government, rural, agribusiness, agricultural-prices, fruit, vegetables, viticulture, agricultural-policy, fishing-aquaculture, livestock, beef-cattle, dairy-production, pig-production, sheep-production, parliament-house-2600
Posted
| UpdatedA major review into the impact of clean energy on retail power prices is expected to clear the way for the Government to make significant changes to the Renewable Energy Target (RET).
Topics: climate-change, environment, government-and-politics, federal-government, alternative-energy, energy, electricity-energy-and-utilities, australia
Posted
Aboriginal communities in northern Western Australia are being asked to make submissions to a Federal Government inquiry into alcohol-related harm.
Topics: drugs-and-substance-abuse, programs-and-initiatives, federal-government, indigenous-aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander, wa, karratha-6714, broome-6725
Posted
South-east South Australian residents will have the chance to discuss the future of health services in the region with federal Health Minister Peter Dutton tomorrow.
Topics: health, federal-government, health-policy, mount-gambier-5290
Posted
The Member for Barker, Tony Pasin, says he will lobby the Federal Government for funding for a healthy living program in South Australia's Murraylands.
Topics: health, federal-government, activism-and-lobbying, diet-and-nutrition, exercise-and-fitness, karoonda-5307, renmark-5341
Posted
| UpdatedThe Federal Indigenous Affairs Minister is being urged to reverse a decision to cancel a $10 million grant to help sufferers of a debilitating wasting disease in the Northern Territory.
The MJD Foundation was set up to help people on Groote Eylandt who suffer from the genetic Machado-Joseph disease.
Topics: health-administration, health-policy, federal-government, federal---state-issues, community-and-society, government-and-politics, indigenous-policy, nt
Posted
| UpdatedPolitical Editor Greg Jennett discusses the day in politics with Liberal MP Kelly O'Dwyer and Labor Senator Sam Dastyari and discusses Tony Abbott's drought trip with ABC Political journalist Anna Henderson.
Topics: government-and-politics, federal-government, australia, canberra-2600
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| UpdatedSPC Ardmona avoided closure last week when its parent company Coca-Cola Amatil and the Victorian Government announced a $100 million investment plan to keep the ailing company in operation.
ABC Fact Check examines the main claims and counter claims made about the conditions and entitlements of SPC Ardmona's workforce.
Topics: manufacturing, fruit, food-processing, rural, food-and-beverage, federal-government, australia, vic
Posted
The Latrobe City Council says Government assistance will be needed to transition to a low carbon future.
Topics: programs-and-initiatives, coal, electricity-energy-and-utilities, work, local-government, federal-government, morwell-3840, sale-3850
Posted
The Orana Regional Organisation of Councils (OROC) says the drought highlights the need for better weather reporting in the western region.
Topics: local-government, rural, federal-government, dubbo-2830
Posted
| UpdatedPrime Minister Tony Abbott has ruled out long-term subsidies for the agricultural sector as he continues a tour of severely drought-affected regions of New South Wales and Queensland.
Topics: federal-government, government-and-politics, rural, drought, disasters-and-accidents, broken-hill-2880, bourke-2840, longreach-4730, qld, australia, nsw
Posted
| UpdatedThe Federal Government has declared farmers the big winners of a new free trade agreement with South Korea and also announced more support for those in drought stricken areas.
Topics: drought, federal-government, government-and-politics, agricultural-subsidies, trade, australia
Posted
| UpdatedImmigration Minister Scott Morrison says 35 asylum seekers escaped from the Manus Island detention centre last night but were quickly recaptured.
Mr Morrison says the breakout happened about 6:15pm (local time) and was the result of "much-heightened" tensions at the facility.
"Within about an hour and a quarter, control was restored to the centre," he said.
"All things were quiet last night."
Eight asylum seekers have been arrested and 19 have been treated at the centre's medical clinic, but Mr Morrison says none of the patients are "exhibiting life-threatening conditions".
Topics: immigration, community-and-society, refugees, federal-government, papua-new-guinea, australia, pacific
Posted
The Prime Minister has refused to comment on reports that Australian spies gathered intelligence for the United States on Indonesian trade negotiations last year.
Topics: foreign-affairs, government-and-politics, federal-government, world-politics, security-intelligence, defence-and-national-security, australia, indonesia, united-states, asia
Posted
| UpdatedPrime Minister Tony Abbott arrived in drought-ravaged Bourke in western NSW to hear first-hand how graziers are coping; they had to speak up to be heard over the rain drumming on the roof of the Jandra woolshed.
Topics: drought, rainfall, federal-government, abbott-tony, community-development, animal-nutrition, livestock-welfare, mental-health, bourke-2840, longreach-4730, broken-hill-2880
Posted
| UpdatedVirgin boss Sir Richard Branson has taken out a full-page advertisement in News Corp papers urging the Federal Government not to provide financial assistance for rival airline Qantas.
Topics: air-transport, industry, business-economics-and-finance, federal-government, government-and-politics, australia