Detail of Australia's long-awaited response to the US Inflation Reduction Act will soon be made public, with domestic advanced manufacturing and a clean energy incentive scale-up on the cards.
The Federal Government has lauded its planned industrial relations changes as world-leading, but new details of the proposed reform have been slammed by leading business groups.
As criticism of the government's energy market intervention settles, Madeleine King is focused on pushing Australian resources to the fore of the global energy transition.
The manufacturing sector has finally contracted after three months of flatlining, in a sign that less than favourable economic conditions are now hurting.
Confidence has dropped to its lowest level since mid-August 2020 as cost of living pressures mount, not helped by an expected further rise in interest rates.
Opposition leader Anthony Albanese effectively put a figure on Labor's position, supporting a wage increase of 5.1 per cent, in line with the highest inflation spike in two decades.
Reserve Bank governor Philip Lowe expects the Australian economy will bounce back by year's end after suffering a contraction in the September quarter.
China has ignored Australia's attempts to discuss trade tensions over beef and barley imports, and state governments fear they could become the meat in the sandwich as the trade tangle heats up.
New vehicle sales in Western Australia fell 2 per cent last month and 5.4 per cent during 2019, with national sales crashing to their lowest since 2011.
The federal government today launched a new wage subsidy trial targeting apprenticeships in rural and regional areas, which will invest $60 million across a range of trades
Unions have blasted Industrial Relations Minister Kelly O'Dwyer's decision to intervene in a potentially landmark court case about casual workers' pay and leave entitlements.
The business sector has cautiously welcomed the federal government's announcement of a new visa scheme aimed at attracting high-paid and highly skilled workers to Australia, with the changes effectively reversing some of the stricter rules announced last year when the 457 visa sub-class was abolished.
Major gas exporters on the east coast have promised to ensure higher domestic supplies, but the industry has slammed the federal government's new restrictions on gas exports.
Soaring energy prices, driven by growing gas exports are putting jobs at risk and "politics-driven energy policies" are making the situation worse, Australia's peak business lobby group has warned.
Fresh from a year that delivered major political shocks and proved tougher than expected, Australian business leaders are taking a cautious approach to 2017.
